Manchester City Fires Roberto Mancini in Search of a More ‘Holistic’ Approach

After losing out on a second consecutive title to local rivals Manchester United and having been embarrassed in the FA Cup finals by lowly Wigan Athletic, the brass at Manchester City has relieved Roberto Mancini of his responsibilities.

In a statement on the official Manchester City website, the club defends their decision by saying that, “the Club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets this year, with the exception of qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.”

This, I can understand. The club has been bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour, a multi-billionaire who has taken the Roman Abramovich approach to building a champion and showered City with unlimited resources, allowing them to compete with Europe’s elite by buying the best talent available and stockpiling superstars.

Mancini has not performed to the level expected of him with the resources he has been given. He performed poorly in the coveted Champions League and has failed to win any silverware this year. With the money he has had available and the players he decided to buy, he underachieved according to the board’s evaluation, and they are entirely justified in dismissing him.

However later in their statement, Manchester City also cite the ‘need to develop a holistic approach’.

They don’t describe what they mean by a ‘holistic approach’, they just kind of throw it in there.

There has been a lot of speculation as to what exactly those sharp guys in baby blue ties were trying to say. Some think it was a comment on Mancini’s limited attention to defense and man marking. Others believe it was a reference to his public disputes and differences with select players.

My interpretation of this from whichever PR staffer who had his thesaurus handy while he was writing this press release, is that Man City wants to build a total club, not unlike that of Barcelona. They want a philosophy; a unique style; a system; a tradition of winning. But therein lies the problem – a total club takes time and requires patience.

To build a club like Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich – arguably the supreme of Europe’s footballing kingdom – a unique and specific philosophy is needed.

In Barcelona, the philosophy is purely about football – movement, possession, and creativity with one or two touch passing.

At Real Madrid, the philosophy extends beyond the pitch. It is about sportsmanship, pride, etiquette, and being a gentleman while being ultimately superior to the opposition.

At Man U the philosophy instilled and cultivated by Sir Alex Ferguson has been about intensity and competition at all times - in training, in games, and regardless of opponent; it’s about competing at the highest level with optimum effectiveness and effort.

These philosophies are not only prevalent in the first team – they are predominant at every level and in every aspect of the club. They are the mantras that the youth teams in the academies are nurtured and developed with. The philosophies of their respected clubs are engrained in youth players and, the select few who make the leap to professional status, bring years of being trained with the same ethos and attitude into the starting eleven.

Barcelona starts this process at their training facilities and academy – the legendary la Masia – at the youngest ages. They develop their players with their unique system, ideas, and principles. This is why they are so effective and have been so successful. They have a core of players who have been trained the same way with the same philosophy. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Pique, Pedro, Busquets, etc. have spent their athletic lives developing under the same principles. They are very talented cogs in a larger system that has their replacements waiting at the wings who may not be as fast or have the same touch, but the ideas, the values, the system of playing the game is exactly the same.

Manchester City do not have the patience to build this type of ‘holistic’ club. They have the money, however only a great team with great players can be bought, not a great club.

A great club is developed organically. It takes time and the right people who foster unique ideas and an identity that is grown and not automatically established.

Chelsea is still not a great club. It is a good team with great players. 

Manchester City may want a ‘holistic approach’, but it doesn’t happen over the summer with 200 million euros in transfer funds.

I wonder what sharp buzzword they’ll think of next time they fire their manager.