2013-2014 Season Preview: Focus on the managers – Part 2

Part one of this article looked at two contenders (Manchester United and Chelsea) in a group widely expected to have serious, realistic chance for the 2013-2014 Premier League title. Let’s look at the other two, starting with Manchester City…
Manchester City has Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager replacing Roberto Mancini. Pellegrini comes highly rated, having proved himself at Malaga. Pellegrini however is not Roberto Mancini, not in styles and not in personalities. While he does not have the trophy count of Mancini, he brings along calmness, which is what Manchester City needs. As with many other examples of clubs with mediocre results but a good fan base and history, the changes in ownership will bring in instant results during the first few seasons (Chelsea and PSG would be good example) as the money brought in by the new owner allows many quality players (with high wages) to comes in. Then with success, these individuals ‘star’ players transformed into prima donnas such as the likes of Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli. Images of Tevez playing golf during the season and Mancini fighting with Balotelli are still fresh in fans’ mind. It is not the sort of images the owner would want in their club. It is not surprising that even with trophies Roberto Mancini did not last more than two seasons. It still remains a question mark to whether Manuel Pellegrini can bring calmness to the group of players he inherited. There are still players in the dressing room which Pellegrini needs to deal with – players with big ego, despite the departure of Tevez and Balotelli.

 

Like neighbor Manchester United, City’s pre season results is not convincing either but on the transfer front, City has done relatively well. Steven Jovetic, Alvara Negredo, Fernandinho and Jesus Navas were all signed within the first month of the transfer window, allowing Pellegrini enough time to gel them into existing squad. On paper these new players looks promising and together with the current squad, should be able to give title rivals a good fight. What would be interesting is how Manchester City and Manuel Pellegrini deal with the long season and how he (Pellgerini) will manage the players with super star ego.

 

Lastly we have Arsene Wenger – the longest serving manager in England (after Sir Alex Ferguson). Arsenal under Wenger has been stagnant – for far too long. It’s been eight long years since the last trophy landed in that side of London. It’s not convincing for Gunner’s fans either on the transfer front. First Wenger coveted Wayne Rooney and then Luiz Suarez, both players embroiled in dispute with their current clubs. But it is Wenger’s bid for Suarez that has attracted ridicules, even from their own fans. Arsenal and Wenger’s policy of youth and attractive football may be well accepted by the footballing fraternity but the business of top football clubs these days are about winning trophies. Years after years of not winning any silverware had left fans disillusioned despite the football philosophy Arsenal adopted. And with key players almost immediately getting winners medals after leaving – Van Persie, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, it is hard to imagine how Arsenal can continue attracting quality star players to come to Emirates with Champions League football as the only attraction. It does not help either when Arsenal players was seen celebrating their fourth place finish, as if they have won the league or the Champions League. The youth policy under Wenger has not seen much success too with standout among the crops – Jack Wilshere being more associated with treatment room than on the pitch.

 

Result-wise, the football at Arsenal has been stagnant with big changes needed. Arsenal these days seem like a team run as a business first, then only as a football club. Emphasis has been given on the financial side – prudent transfer activities, additional commercial efforts, the need to repay the cost of the stadium coincides with the run of more than seven seasons without trophies, not even the lowly rated League Cup. The only positive fans can draw at will be the experiences of Arsene Wenger. Been the only team in the group of title contenders without the change of manager, Arsenal is the only team that can built on stability, meaning Arsene Wenger can continue to build on whatever he had planned for the last few years.

An outside scenario here would be that Arsenal (from the perspective of experience and stability) has the edge, if the team takes full advantage of it. Arsene Wenger is now the longest serving manager in the Premier League, he is also a winner before. Many of these players have been playing together for many years, having experience disappointment after disappointment. A good manager would be able to turn these disappointments into motivation – this is where Arsene Wenger comes in. Seeing that all the title contenders have new managers, Arsenal must have a very convincing starts and the ability to last the distance – till May, and not November or December, to able to count themselves as serious title contenders. Having said this, Arsenal may well end up disappointed yet again if the players themselves had not learned from their disappointment.

 

Arsenal apart, the other closest London club with outside chances of the title would be Tottenham Hotspurs. As days goes by Tottenham Hotspurs chances just got dimmer with their star player Gareth Bale looks increasingly likely to leave (for Real Madrid). Without Bale Tottenham Hotspurs looks average. Even if Gareth Bale chooses to stay, there is also likelihood of injuries or worse, backlash from the fans if he performs poorly. A smart guess given the current situation would be Bale’s last game for Spurs was in the 2012-2013 season. At best it is the fourth spot that Tottenham Hotspurs can aim for, maybe a straight fight between them and another London club – Arsenal.

 

Given the above analysis, smart money is on a straight fight between Chelsea and Manchester United towards the end with Chelsea having the slight edge and where goal differences may still be a determining factor. Manchester City will also be in the mix but it will be Chelsea and Manchester United at the finishing line. As a die-hard fan I would love to see Manchester United wins the title plus other trophies but it will very much depends on how well David Moyes performs in his first year. The players he inherited are from the title winning squad. Even without marquee signing the squad looks promising as evidence by the winning margin last season. The club has been well managed, even the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson will still be around along with senior players like Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand who are able to play important roles when necessary.

 

The manager will be in focus here and not so much on the players. It is them (the managers) who select the team, plans the formation and make sure the players carry out the execution of the strategy. No matter how good the players in the squad are, the manager must make sure he plays them to their strength. Watch this space!