Manchester City has had a considerable dip in form since the turn of the year.
Last season’s Premier League champions have only managed a disappointing seven wins in eighteen games in all competitions in 2015. It has not been a great start to the year for the Sky Blues, which has seen them exit the FA Cup and the Champions league. It also looks to be a near certainty that they will be dethroned of their league crown. So what went wrong for Manuel Pellegrini’s men?
City started off the season as title favourites but have not performed anywhere near the level expected of them in the second half of the season. With the amount of talent available in the City squad, it would be daft to even consider any lack ofdepth in their squad.
Pellegrini has abundant talent at his disposal, which begs the question: why is his side struggling so badly? Is City’s ageing squad the reason behind this? When we look at the teams above City in the league, they all have an average squad age of around 26 years, whereas the average age of the City squad is nearly 30 years.
Only three players in the Manchester City squad out of its registered 23 are either 25 years of age or less. It must be looked at as a factor leading to its downfall this season. City have signed six first-team players this season, of which half were already over 30.
Teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all put in considerably more consistent performances than City in 2015, which sees them above Pellegrini’s side in the league. The season is coming to an end and Pellegrini, should he keep his job next season, will have to look at a better transfer strategy that should see them targeting more young talent.
City look set to lose the likes of Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alexander Kolarov, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and maybe even Yaya Toure, when the summer transfer window opens. Although it can be dangerous to let go of so many players all at once, City will surely look at this as a chance to sign more talented youngsters to bolster their squad.
Rumours are rife that former Chelsea talent Kevin de Bruyne will be on his way to the Etihad next season. City have the money to spend, but the Financial Fair Play rules could prevent them making such a signing. While spending in the summer has become more of a necessity, Pellegrini must make sure that he spends wisely and on the right players.
But for now, City still have a task at hand, which is to ensure that they will be playing Champions League football next season. Achieving that should not be the toughest task considering they currently sit in fourth position, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool.
City look likely to miss their captain Vincent Kompany for the remainder of the season and Pellegrini will be judging the performances of his defenders in the absence of their skipper. City’s poor defensive performances this year might tempt Pellegrini to add some talent in that area.
They enter their final five games of the season with a home clash against relegation-threatened Aston Villa on Saturday. Villa have enjoyed a fairly decent run in recent games under Tim Sherwood. The Villains will go into the match high on confidence after eliminating Liverpool in the FA Cup as they look to escape the drop. The resurgence of striker Christian Benteke can pose a huge threat to the City goal. The home side will need to be at its best if it want to take the three points from this one and go some way to ending the season on a high.
Pellegrini and his staff will have a lot to think about next season, should they remain at the club. But for now, all they can do is get the maximum points from their remaining few games and finish the season strongly.
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