A popular theory attached to Manchester City’s curiously hitherto flat defence of their championship crown, won so dramatically last May, is that the club failed to build from a position of considerable strength in the summer.
With City established as title winners and potential Champions League contenders, allied to their standing as being among the best wage payers in the game, the Etihad Stadium would have appeared a home for employment to rival any other for the world’s finest footballers.
From that advantageous platform it was expected that another sprinkling of genuine top class talent would arrive in Manchester to supplement Roberto Mancini’s already excellent team in readiness for the pursuit of silverware at home and in Europe.
Instead, it was across the city at Old Trafford where the season defining purchase took place with Robin Van Persie being lured to Manchester United from Arsenal, a signing that has proved strikingly influential in what looks sure to be a campaign that will end with United’s unprecedented 20th English title.
Meanwhile, Mancini was restricted to some mild tinkering with his squad. Acquisitions came in the unremarkable form of; Matija Nastasic, Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair, and Maicon. Of these, only Nastasic, and to a lesser extent Garcia, have become fixtures in City’s first eleven.
The move for Rodwell was perhaps the strangest, and it has been widely speculated that the midfielder’s recruitment had its roots in a wider club policy, orchestrated by then football administrator Brian Marwood, to bring a greater young home-grown presence to a predominantly cosmopolitan squad.
Regardless of Rodwell’s evident talent, Evertonians – wearied by seeing progress at Goodison Park stifled by the departure of key performers in search of money and trophies elsewhere – expressed little regret at the 21 year-old’s departure. Indeed, emotions concerning Rodwell’s sale on the blue half of Merseyside ranged between ambivalence and delight. The welcome receipt of £12m for a fringe player was considered – correctly – to increase the likelihood that Everton’s more prized individuals would remain at the club.
That lack of concern at losing a player long since touted as a future international, and deemed by David Moyes to be of sufficient ability to have been handed a debut at just 16 years-old, stemmed from Rodwell’s repeated inability to feature regularly without suffering injury, and his perceived lack of progress on the pitch.
For all his gifts, Rodwell can appear infuriatingly laid back in action, lacking the presence and drive to decisively effect a game from a pivotal area of the field. A player who looks extremely comfortable in possession, Rodwell was often chastised for his safety-first use of the ball and lack of vision.
Frustration with the youngster was exacerbated during his final term at Goodison. Rodwell was a regular component of the early season side which endured a characteristically sluggish opening, before following a promising England debut in November with only five further appearances for the Blues – three of those from the bench.
Moyes spoke in the September of Rodwell’s final campaign at Everton of his concern at the player’s lack of toughness possibly hindering his progress;
‘Jack’s a very pleasant lad and respectful. You want him to be all that which he is.
‘But you also want him on the field to say ‘I’m rolling my sleeves up and I’ll fight my own corner when I’m out here’.
‘He needs to toughen up on the field. We’re on his case now’.
Ironically, when he finally demonstrated some of the devil his game was crying out for during the October 2011 Merseyside derby, the player was erroneously sent off for a challenge on Luis Suarez. That came little over a month before Fabio Capello first introduced Rodwell to international football, a stage on which he looked supremely comfortable and confident when matched up against Spain and Sweden. Any hopes at Goodison that the England experience might translate back to Merseyside were stymied by Rodwell’s notorious hamstring trouble, and his season typically petered out prior to last August’s departure.
Rodwell’s name has been to the fore when City fans have lamented the lack of quality summer additions to their roster. His time at the Etihad has rarely veered away from the script followed down the East Lancs Road. Surprisingly chosen to start the season, Rodwell was unspectacular in outings against Southampton and QPR. Most damagingly, the Southport man was culpable for the concession of a goal in a vital European encounter against Borussia Dortmund. Evertonians would recognise Rodwell’s vulnerability on the continental stage. His costly error in a Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon contributed greatly to the Blues’ exit from the 2010 competition.
Three days after his Etihad aberration, Rodwell appeared for three minutes of stoppage time against Sunderland before disappearing from the scene for three months, again beset by hamstring trouble.
After two substitute appearances in the past four weeks it was somewhat surprising that Mancini selected Rodwell yesterday as part of a three man midfield for what was a crucial clash with Chelsea. City may be destined to fall short of overcoming their fierce rivals from Old Trafford this year, but anything less than victory against Chelsea would have left the Citizens vulnerable to losing guaranteed top-end European football next season.