by PrezIke » Mon May 09, 2016 7:06 pm
I listed the possible and plausible factors in a different thread, but we can go over them again, even if they aren't necessarily excuses.
1) As soon as we hired Txiki the plan for Pep was in place, but when Pep went to Bayern that summer whoever we brought in had to know this was set in stone and would eventually be replaced.
2) Mancini's iron hand, calling players out in pressers before having a word with them in private, etc. led to understandably very well paid individuals with explainable massive egos to loathe his management.
3) The leaking of this rumour before the FA Cup Final and the impending managerial change sent a message to players that they would get what they want (which is how things work in modern football, like it or not), even though Mancini needed to go.
4) Pellegrini was the velvet glove that was needed, and brought an incredibly exciting brand of attacking football that allowed players the freedom to express themselves, turning defence into attack in a flash, and scoring the most goals ever in the PL (I believe) leading to two trophies including the league title.
5) Season 2, Pellegrini's tactics were found out, where teams would park the bus, and learned to hit us on the counter, as his stubbornness playing 4222/442, while our defence seemed porous and in need of surgery and/or starting players who were under performing (Yaya, Bony) for longer than some felt they should have.
6) Injuries and aging players showed it's ugly head further in season 2, with important players constantly injured (Vinnie, Kun, Nasri, Silva, Jovetic) and rarely playing together, and Yaya beginning to show signs of slowing down, becoming a liability in defence, after an incredible season the year before.
7) Big money signings to fill voids not living up to or creating extremely high expectations over the past two seasons (Mangala, Bony, Otamendi, Jovetic, Sterling) as well as FFP penalties led to inconsistency (signings the last day of Mancini's last summer), and top targets being missed in the transfer market (Hazard, Isco, Cavani *whew*, Falcao *whew*, Pogba) compared to the period before (Yaya, Silva, Aguero, Nasri, Milner, etc.)
8) Rumours of Pep coming grow further late in season 2, and just to silence this a bit is given a contract extension, that did little to change the belief he was gone after season 3.
9) During summer 2015 the club tries to purge itself of unwanted players (Dzeko, Jovetic) Txiki struggles to move until late in the summer perhaps leaving them to contaminate the team, and/or leaving a sour taste in the mouth of players remaining who could wonder about their futures and that of the manager.
10) The Sterling signing/saga turns him into public enemy #1 in the entire nation and is booed at every away game, and ridiculed in the press,
9) Season 3 starts well, but the rumours of Pep grow each week.
10) The decline of Yaya increases, and injuries become even worse than the season before to our best players, especially long periods without Vinnie, the leader of the team and organiser of the defence, leading it to be arguably the worst of the Mansour era.
11) Pep announces he will be managing in England, and speculation becomes so rampant that Pellegrini decides to make it official on his own.
12) Afterwards the team's form, which was inconsistent, but seeming to pick up, utterly collapses. The team somehow still does well in CL games and wins the League Cup, but even after winning, Yaya's ego (already having had an effect in the past via his agent) shows with him celebrating his final penalty rather than Willy's incredible performance.
13) Injuries continue to cause problems just as things are getting going with KDB out for months, Silva's persistent ankle problem affecting his play, and Vinnie in and out of the team.
13) Better performance in the CL starts to better reveal first team favourites of the manager, in the Chelsea FA Cup tie and Southampton match before the CL Semis in an already likely tense dressing room, which combined with Pep's impending arrival, and some on long term contracts, raises the risk for complacency and arguably outright rebellion on the pitch (Kolarov) since he is effectively a lame duck, and those players might give a care about the future of the club.
14) Pellegrini, not one to slag his players off in public has to save face (even though we don't know what goes on behind the scenes, since players have reported he is different there), but does not seem to be one likely to fire up his team, and we limp into the possibility of Europa League and behind even United who had an even more pathetic season.
Last edited by
PrezIke on Mon May 09, 2016 8:58 pm, edited 6 times in total.
