We are happy to present a new guest writer on our website. Kristian Mihajlovski has written his thoughts about Mancini’s arrival and has analyzed what the comeback of the coach could mean for Inter.
Well, Mancio is up and running in Milano once again. There’s been an air of enthusiasm surrounding his arrival. He’s been welcomed as one of our own and the fans seem to have the utmost confidence that he will duly deliver the promise that his future can someday replicate the lavishness of his past. As we prepare to see Mancio back on the Inter bench for the first time since that Scudetto-winning game against Parma in 2008, there is no doubt that everyone’s eyes are aimed at the tactical changes he is about to make in the team. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the aversion the fans have bred for Mazzarri’s 3-5-2 after seeing some torrid performances in that system, especially this season. Hoping that we will no longer see the pointless continuous back-passes in lack of ideas for going forward, an isolated Icardi in the opposition box begging to get some decent service so he can score etc. I’ve set out to designate several defining developments that could take place if Mancio’s changes are indeed as I’ve anticipated. I believe that as most people expect, Mancini will go with 4-3-1-2 (his “rombo“, a narrow diamond that he used at Inter last time around, a bit like a 4-1-2-1-2) as one of his trademark formations and one that would more or less suit the players he has at disposal for now. Apart from his usual affinity to this formation, the fact that he used it in his first few training sessions with the squad gives us additional reason to expect a lineup in this structure. In order to fully explain the reasons why I believe the concrete changes will occur, I will also give a short description of how the system works in principle as I go.
This is more or less (with a couple of fluctuations) the lineup that I expect to see Mancio present on perfect days – ones with no injuries or suspensions. Before I go explaining my anticipation of Mancini’s choices, a short explanation about the system itself:
As you can see, there is a shift to a 4-man defense, with a diamond in midfield consisting of one deeper lying (in most cases defensive-minded) midfielder, 2 central midfielders, a single advanced midfielder in the hole between midfield and attack and finally 2 strikers. This is a system that offers good vertical penetration and provides good balance for playing a game based both on possession or on more direct passes. A very good side of it is the fact that it creates numerical advantage in midfield, without sacrificing any of the attacking potential, but one of the system’s inherent weaknesses is one that could hurt us in particular, as I will point out later – the lack of wingers calls for the full backs to bomb ahead to provide width. As the full backs penetrate ahead, it is the job of one of the midfielders (the deeper-lying one) to stay further back and provide cover from counter attacks for the defense, until the team manages to retake its defensive shape. It is also a system that necessitates midfielders who are good on the ball, because losing the ball in midfield easily leaves the defense exposed, considering the fact that the full backs are moved in front during the offensive phase.
So, the first development I expect is:
1. We will see a lot more goals and more interesting football.
Yes, I will be expecting Inter’s games to produce more goals now that Mancini has arrived (we’ll probably score more, but we’ll probably concede easily as well, which we’ve been doing often lately anyway; all in all, less people will fall asleep during the games). The football Mancio’s first Inter side adopted was quite attractive as well, and now the fact that we’ve moved one of the stoppers behind the strikers indicates that we should see a lot more action up front. No more Icardi standing on his own in the opposition box, no more boring passing in our own half (and hopefully no more “long balls” from Ranocchia and his defensive partner in lack of other solutions).
I did have a few dilemmas in predicting the starters, as I don’t know if Mancini will prefer Vidic or JJ alongside captain Ranocchia. Vidic has been a proper menace so far, as opposed to JJ who has impressed me with his grit and bravery (the only player alongside Palacio who gives 100% every single game), but turning to a 4-man defense could be a real game-changer as far as this paradigm is concerned.
… Which brings me to my second point:
2. Vidic – reborn! (his name is Nemanja, he comes from Serbia, he’ll f***ing murder yaaaa…)
It doesn’t matter if he starts or not, I expect Vidic’s individual performances to improve massively under Mancini, not only because of his experience in 4-man defense systems (not to mention the fact that SAF has used this particular formation with United in the past), but also because Mancini would have less problems in communicating with Vidic, being able to speak English himself. I expect Mancini will also be able to better point out the differences between Italian and English football to Vidic (with his substantial experience in both leagues), which I think he desperately needs.
Should Vidic start instead of JJ (and Mancini likes him, tried to snap him up while at Galatasaray, but failed because Ausilio concluded the business swiftly on Inter’s part), it would open up a difficult choice for the new coach – should JJ be left on the bench? Seeing as how Ranocchia is captain (and Conte seems to be having a very good effect on him in the national team – was GdS’s highest rated player against Croatia) and if Vidic does indeed go through a renaissance – the only other option for Mancio will be to deploy Juan as a left full back.
Speaking of full backs…
3. Inter’s biggest problem will be on the flanks.
Yes, this is by far the most problematic area of the squad should we adopt this system. I’m not sure any of the full backs we currently have are up to such a task. Dodo, Danilo and perhaps even Nagatomo and JJ are decent at best – not complete full backs that you can rely on to that extent which this system beckons. I’m not counting Jonathan there (I’ve given up on him) and it’s much too early to talk of Mbaye. Dodo’s got a lot of potential, but he’s a liability defensively, JJ’s got the problem inverted. I think a lot of work will have to be invested in those positions, no matter who starts on either side. Our full backs can’t cross a ball for their lives, and being the only players that provide width to the game, it will be expected of them quite often. I’m quite certain that this area of the squad will be the first one mentioned should Mancini think of reinforcements.
Lucky we don’t have any reckless midfield mavericks to lose balls all the time… Oh, wait…
4. The Guarin conundrum
Now that we’ve reached midfield… I heard Mancio say in his unveiling press conference that he holds Fredy Guarin in very high regard. He said he could be “key”, called him a “great player” and said he would discuss with him his favorite position (also reportedly wanted to bring him to Galatasaray in the past, another indication of high esteem). I think that normally places him in central midfield, because it’s the only spot that doesn’t have much better fitting players already (Medel is sure to start deep, as his versatility will be useful when he needs to act as a central defender to cover; Kovacic is undisputed up front). What worries me about Guarin is tightly connected to what I mentioned about the requirements of the midfield earlier, in the system “intro”. For a system that requires players in midfield who are rational with the ball (because lost balls mean fast counter attacks on an exposed defense), Guarin is an awfully risky choice. He’s also very unstable psychologically and his work rate varies greatly due to this. I’d take M’Vila in serious consideration for that spot, at least depending on the opponents, because he is very composed (despite the fact that he won’t provide a creative spark as good as Guarin’s in attack) and also provides great physicality that allows Inter to win balls further upfield. Seeing as how the midfielders we have are quite versatile and can play in various positions, I’m sure we’ll get to see them in a variety of roles, so I won’t be surprised to see him as trequartista from time to time, a role that he spent a lot of time working on under Mazzarri.
And speaking of trequartistas…
5. Mancini will elevate Kovacic to new heights.
This is one of the biggest benefits of Mancini’s arrival. He has spoken very highly of Kovacic in the past, calling him the “biggest talent in Europe, a born champion” while Mateo was still in Dinamo. Though Kovacic has already been stellar in our shirt, I expect Mancini to take him to a whole new level. The reason? Mancini is an expert on the trequartista role and Kovacic has all it takes to make it there. Actually, upon receiving his coaching badges, Mancio wrote a thesis about the trequartista role, and having played as one himself, he knows quite a lot about it. He writes in his thesis that the trequartista is an “artist with 360 degree vision, and can create something new and unexpected with a single move”. The role demands great mobility and generally allows great creative freedom. Though this is difficult to implement in modern football (having a player that provides little defensive contribution), it’s a perfect role for Kovacic.
I’ve been thinking whether Kovacic should swap positions with Hernanes, because he plays better in more space and Inter could benefit from Hernanes’ shooting abilities while not losing too much creative output, but I think that Mancio’s expertise in the role combined with his appreciation for Il Professore nudged my decision the right way. Expect him to become the very core of this team.
We should expect a lot of assists from little Mateo, and we also have quite the player to score goals off them…
6. Icardi to leapfrog competition to become Capocannoniere.
… Don’t get me wrong, Mauro has already been exquisite for Inter! He is a predator in front of the goal; a very balanced combination of excellent movement (as pointed out by Mancio himself before he returned), aerial prowess, speed, physicality and above all world class finishing ability. He is currently sitting third on the charts with 7 goals to his name, only 1 goal behind Tevez and Callejon who are tied for 1st place each having scored 8.
The biggest (and perhaps, only) reason Mauro Icardi is not #1 on that list in my humble opinion has been the disgraceful lack of service he’d been victim of under Mazzarri. Walter may have had a positive effect on him as an individual as far as his game is concerned, but one of the most frustrating things about Mazzarri’s reign was seeing Icardi all alone up front, receiving 70m long balls from Ranocchia/Vidic/JJ and being left to wait for the rest of the team to come up and help him; receiving barely 1 decent cross from which he can make a proper finish through 90 minutes (which could continue to be a problem, as I’ve mentioned above) etc. This has to stop, Icardi can be the best striker in Italy by a mile and Mancini needs to look to this.
Apart from Maurito, I am quite confident Rodrigo will come around soon enough and will be back to his best (I have HUGE respect for him). I am a little scared about Osvaldo, who has done well so far and needs to keep up the good work despite the change of coaches.
Having re-read what I’ve written above, it seems like a very optimistic scenario (a feeling I generally don’t emit when speaking of Inter lately). If Mancini can gain control over things in the short time that he’s been given and resist the pressure, I expect to start seeing glimpses of what I’ve written above (it’s easier to see these things when there’s order instead of chaos). Roberto has a very difficult time ahead and he will need unconditional support for at least a while. I hope that we will see improvements compared to Mazzarri’s time (which isn’t too much to ask for starters!) and that we finish in a European spot in May. Meanwhile, Thohir has to do all that is possible to keep hold of our best players (and we have several good ones) so that the project may kick off. Mancini has experience in building good teams, and though he hasn’t got the budget to build a world class one in a short time, I’m confident he’ll set the right foundations.
Do you agree with Kristijan?
allow me to say what a great article you written my friend!!
Good article, I agree 100% with your starting line-up. Let’s hope that Mancio does too!
It’s a new coach and new era for Inter, and this enthusiasm should help us give all players a fresh start especially Rano and Guarin and even Kuzmanovic! A good coach is a flexible one, and will adjust to the other team’s playing style and weapons with his tactics and players he starts (not like Mazzarri playing the same formation and players over and over again).
Mancini needs to rotate players, and that might leave JJ (he’s a true captain to me) on the bench for the games that the opposing team plays long crosses or push him to the LB position. Same goes with Guarin. I think our line-up should be different for a game we are playing against Juventus or Casena!
Kovacic is pushed to the left in Croatia’s national team and he hates it (Kovac has Modric and Rakitic on disposal so he has no other choice), Mancini needs to put him in center to dominate the tempo of the match.
I hope we don’t get our hopes too high, because Mancini needs time to impose his toughts on his team. So lets not give up on the team even if we lose all our games until the January break!
First of all, allow me to regard this article is the best I’ve read today. This is just a little bit pieces of my thought about Mancini and the next Inter’s project.
I believe Mancio is already positioned himself in the hall of the world class coach.
As world class coach, he already understand the core concept of modern soccer these days.
And as you have stated before, we have several players that strong and lacking in some points. I’m intrigued in how Mancio gonna deploying and adapting his tactic on each game that he’s gonna face.
One thing for sure, Mercato is a must. And with our current condition, we could only get with the best player in both tactic and finance aspect.
My point is, let’s give quite a space for Mancini to rebuild inter once again with stability. I mean patience from all interista is one the best support for him.
Cheers and best regards,
Hernanes should definitely play in front of the defence as the deep lying playmaker. Either him or M’vila. We need someone there with good long passing and vision. Someone that controls the tempo and can find Palacio or Icardi with a long pass behind the oppositions defence. Medel is great defensively but he is no playmaker. In the RCM and LCM positions we need pysically strong and quick players who can run up and down like Obi and Guarin. Kovacic should play as the trequartista and with Obi and Guarin making forward runs into the box plus Palacio and Icardi there we should be creating many chances. Vidic and JJ in defence cause Ranocchia is just too slow. D’Ambrosio as the RB cause he is the only full-back who can defend properly. Dodô as the LB cause he is the most talented full-back we have. He will need to train on his defensive skills though. Handanovic; D’Ambrosio-Vidic-JJ-Dodô; Hernanes-Guarin-Obi; Kovacic; Palacio-Icardi
Yes, it’s an interesting thought to have Hernanes or M’Vila in front of the defense, depending on the game plan Mancini has for the game. If quick transitions to the final third are required and Inter want to go for counter attacks, it’s a viable option. As my own vision of what things are gonna be, though, it has it’s advantages and weaknesses and can only be used in certain situations (I believe that being flexible enough to tinker with the roles and the selection after a while is the best thing you can do as a coach). For instance, if Hernanes plays in front of the defense, that further limits the defensive capacity of the team, it leaves the goal more exposed against a team that is of high quality, especially if Guarin loses balls in midfield (which he always does). All the above considered, I’d prefer M’Vila in such situations, bearing in mind that he is yet to reach peak form, though, especially in his contribution to the offensive phase.
I made the above squad as what I consider to be optimal for most days, it will undoubtedly be tinkered with depending on the occasion, though.
I see you’ve mentioned Obi. Him I’m not convinced of to be frank. Though I realize he will probably play occasionally as part of a rotation strategy, I don’t think he’ll ever be anywhere near a regular starting spot.
Finally, I’ve mentioned in other posts as well, I doubt anyone can push Ranocchia to the bench for a prolonged period, seeing as how he was given the armband at the start of the season.
Cheers!
Hernanes isn’t that bad defensively. Pirlo plays in front of the defence and he is much worse at defending than Hernanes. M’Vila is still not 100% fit.
True dat, good point.
Good article, congrats. But as always I have some different opinion and point of view. For the beginning when you play with back four full backs right and left are not so important players like wing backs with three central defenders. When the team attacks not only defensive midfielder covers eventual counter attack, but full back from the area where’s not the ball plays like third central defender and cover the space. To me JJ is the central defender in the best shape, most consistent and aggressive. I believe that the best couple will be JJ and Vidic,because they complement each other, Vidic and Rano are too similar, both are slow and I don’t see them play together. I don’t think that Kovacic can play effectively behind the strikers, because his lack of finishing instinct and he’s not a good shooter. He’s much more effective like deep lying playmaker and by his own words, he feels the best playing left inside midfielder. I think that Mancini can use when is needed 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 with Medel and M’Vila like defensive midfielders, especially if trough winter transfer window we buy someone like Konoplyanka with speed and good finishing.
I appreciate the comment, having a different opinion is pretty much the point of the article, as I’m not in Mancini’s head and cannot really know what he’s going to do so it’s not that I’m telling everyone what’s gonna happen. The best thing we can do is rather comment on our vision and anticipate the situation, in order to better understand what’s really happening on the field when Mancio actually kicks off.
I can’t agree about the full backs’ (non)importance, though. In a 3-5-2 they have more freedom to burst ahead because there are 3 stoppers to cover them (with a midfielder in front of the stoppers in any case, as Medel was there). While the expectations in them as far as offensive output is concerned may be a wee bit lower, they are still expected to contribute (which means run ahead and leave space behind them that can be exploited). It makes their defensive work more difficult and more demanding. We simply cannot (normally) form an offensive phase without them in the attacking third, as that would leave our offense too narrow and easy to defend against.
As for the defensive duo – I agree that Vidic and Ranocchia would be risky to play together, especially if the game plan involves pressing high up the pitch. It’s still pretty much an open question as to who exactly will start, and I guess it will come down in huge part to the opponent in each specific game.
Kovacic has been steadily improving as far as finishing is concerned (he still has a LONG way to go in that sense, though, as the trequartista must contribute to the team in both goals & assists; something like Sneijder did under Mourinho) and I expect his output to further improve considering the fact that trequartistas are generally released from most defensive contribution. This gives Mateo time to focus solely on attack (well, more or less, but more compared to when he was central under Mazzarri anyway).
He remains the best fit for the position considering his mobility compared to that of the “rivals” for the position.
Lets see what happens in the winter transfer period, I honestly don’t know what exactly to expect yet.
Cheers!
What i mean about full backs when you play with back four is that they are less important players in the whole squad and i think that’s obvious. Nobody have to expect miracles from them in attack or defense. There’s nothing to concern that with back four we’ll leave more open spaces for counterattacks, because as i said, when one of them support attack, other stays back and acts like third central defender. And don’t get me wrong everybody have an opinion, but i respect and more often support your point of view.
No, no, like I said mate, no hard feelings at all, no reason 🙂
In some extent i agree with your view on kovacic. He is lacking in goal scoring abality especially long shoot. He’s more like iniesta on center left, dancing with the ball and eyeing for killer passes.
Great read, I can’t get enough of these Mancini articles right now. I agree with the majority of what you’ve had to say, though I think the midfield will undergo a fair amount of tinkering before we see anything too consistent. I think Mancio will like the idea of M’Vila and Guarin as part of the 3, but difficult to say if they will perform consistently enough. Personally, considering how fragile we’ve been this season in defence, I would like to see Hernanes as the left central midfielder in a more attacking role behind Kova as the trequartista, with M’vila on the right side providing defensive coverage for Medel in the middle. I think this would give us a chance to use substitutions to give us a more attacking edge by bringing on Guarin, but I suspect Mancini will be starting Guarin in the early weeks considering his press conference. Either way, keep the articles coming!
Dope article! All true! I’ve been saying the same thing for the longest!
Well Written article, kudos and thank you for the great reading I had.. but, if Mancio manages to get the best out of M’villa and he gets his Rennes form he can be a rock in defense and an attacking propeller .. He averaged around +/- 90 % pass accuracy with a Killing long ball … Lets hope he gets to his best
Exactly mate. Mvila is the type of mancio’s defensive midfielder. More like deep lying mid with a killer long balls.
Everyone will see just how much this team was getting held back! Its a very good team considering how young some of the players are. I see us flourishing with mancio. Then after 3 yrs mourinho comes back does the tripleta once more! Hopefully he is done with other clubs and just wants to be inters sir alex furgeson and stayes until retirement
also awesome article and welcome Kristian 🙂
Thanks for the compliments mate 🙂
Anyway, I didn’t mention this as a word of caution in the article itself because I thought it wasn’t relevant to its subject (which is one of mainly aspects of tactics and personnel on the field) – there’s a number of ways that things go sideways for Mancini while at Inter, and even if he does his job flawlessly and develops the players, reinforces the team with all the right players etc. – Inter still have a looooong way to go before we can think of the Champions League again. It’s not only the team that lacks the firepower to compete with Europe’s elite, it’s also the club itself.
As for Jose, I don’t see him leaving Chelsea any time soon, except, that is, if he is sacked for bad results (which also doesn’t sound plausible 🙂 )
I see Simeone in the future if things go well with Mancini. I’d also LOVE to see Bielsa.
Rumor said it could be the last season of bielsa with marsielle. Haha
Marseille are in utter chaos right now with most of the management being imprisoned. Bielsa criticized said management at the beginning of the season too, so things in the club are not rosy.
I’d hate to see what Bielsa is building fall apart, tho, I’d love for him to win the Ligue 1 to prove to PSG that brains and hard work can knock out their money.
Anything can happen with Marseille between now and next season. They could fall apart and Bielsa could leave, but they could also clean up the mess and win the league…
Yer your right the club has to fix itself up but i think with good results starting from the pitch everything will follow on. haha jose coming back was just a dream. Think he woud like to coach Portugal first after chelsea. Simone or bielsa would be awesome! More simone tho
The situation in Inter is bigger than Mancini. Mancini will have his run , then will go back where it is now.
Agree 100%
Welcome to the team Kristian. I agree with the tactical setup but not sure about the starting line up. D’Ambrosio and Nagatomo will be tight. Managers seem to love Naga, I think he is a good trainer and is more dynamic than Ambro but as you said the crossing will be a dilemma.
My concern as you say is the midfield. Guarin has shown that he cannot track players and it has cost Inter a number of goals so playing him centrally is dangerous. I personally think Hernanes is better suited central rather than in the hole as he can make late runs into the box, can shoot from the edge of the area and can control the game from a deeper position. The question then has to be asked do you play Kovacic deep in his Dinamo roll beside Hernanes with Medel behind as a destroyer and Guarin in the hole removing his defensive responsibilities or have M’Vila, Kuz or Obi beside Hernanes who can offer more defensive solidarity but less attacking threat leaving Kovacic in the hole?
Personally I would love to see Medel holding, M’Vila and Hernanes playing centrally and Kovacic in the hole with Guarin available off the bench. I think this offers balance and attacking threat, although Medel and M’Vila would both need to work on speeding up their transitions from defense to attacking phases, which will be a key facet of Mancini’s game.
Guarin has shown time and again that he is most effective off the bench, where is running and dynamic play can catch tired defenders out. Everytime he starts he is hopeless!
Keep up the good work mate!
First of all, thank you for the good comments! 🙂
You make a good point with Nagatomo, I’ve also noticed that somehow he always ends up in the starting lineup with many teams, and I believe his work ethic in training is on a very high level. He works hard in games too, but sometimes just doesn’t work in the right direction, that’s his problem 🙂
Ultimately, I completely agree with you about the lineup in midfield. As I’ve mentioned myself, I’d be more assured by M’Vila than by Guarin in midfield, and Guarin’s energetic nature could be very useful with him coming off the bench. Also a very interesting thing you’ve noted on Medel and M’Vila’s speed in transition.
As for Kovacic, I’m convinced he’ll be in the hole, he seems to be one of Mancini’s favorites and is suitable for Mancini’s favorite role. 100% there.
Cheers! 🙂
Medel and M’villa never play well together. M’villa likes to come back deep and dominate the transition from defense to midfield. He seems lost when Medel is playing. I think we need to trust Guarin, and if he messes up, Kuzmanovic’s current form, showed that he deserves a chance!
I’m really having a hard time accepting Kuzmanovic as a starter 🙂 I’d take Guarin at his worst and provide adequate balances and compensations elsewhere on the pitch to vouch for Guarin, but I’d always prefer even his contribution to that of Kuz. I’m quite hopeful we’ll sell him next summer, as a matter of fact.
I also believe that M’Vila and Medel can fit in together, as Medel isn’t a deep lying playmaker anyway and would need M’Vila or Hernanes to open up and take over the transition as he releases the ball and stays to cover or to switch play with simple passes.
Keep in mind that if Kuzmanovic keeps this form we can sell him at least 8m in the summer 😉
I couldn’t call 2 decent games a run of form mate… I highly doubt Inter can get anything more than 4-5 mil (5 would be on the good side already).
Excellent article. The only thing I want to see with Mancini’s arrival is character and a boost of morale. If he manages those 2 things, the rest will follow.
Very well. But recently in training mancio preferred JJ over Vidic. From the training, We already have 9 holders for the derby. Handa, naga, rano, JJ, dodo, Guarin ( right mid), kova behind palacio and icardi. The qustion is only the defensive mid either kuz or m’villa and left mid (hernanes or obi), but laltely mancio tried with mvila and obi as hernanes still struggling with his injury and dont know with kuz.
Moreover, as far i can remember Mancio’s style of play is not really that attractive. He’s often use direct gameplay. He’s result oriented, not an attacking minded coach. Galore of goals in the past because we have monster like ibra, adriano, vieri, martins. But perhaps he has gain more flexibility in attacking formation as he gained from his experiene in city. But we can expect a better performance than boring mazzari’s inter with no shot on goal.
In opinion, the most important impacts of mancio’s arrival is that we gained the enthusiasm back. The atmosphere in the club, on training ground, media, are now very clear and positive for the team. Not to mention, supporters are also united, even moratti also seem like it, the meazza’s subscriber increases, meazza will come back as the home of inter. And that’s the vocal point for thohir i guess to bring him back. However, even though Mancio is arguably a very good coach, we also need a good mercato in January to maximize this momentum. He’s not a wizard afterall, he cant build the team in harmony just in couple of weeks. Just let see what he can do and we should always support him.
Good article though! 😀
Yes, but the way I see it, the defensive mid position is only in question because of Medel’s suspension from the game against Verona. Once he’s back, I doubt anyone can take over from him. Only M’Vila has the potential to do so, but I am quite convinced it will be Medel.
As for JJ/Vidic, i could be wrong, like I said. I love JJ and would be happy to see him play well and start every single match. No matter if he starts or not, though, I expect Vidic to improve (he will be playing anyway if we stay in the Coppa and the EL, rotation will be required).
Very good of you to take into consideration the fact that he’s had experience in England (Mancini). This is why I expect more flow in our game this time around. Also, I know he’s result oriented (which makes me VERY happy, i don’t want a maverick, I want a winner), but you don’t see Mancini do the things Mourinho does, completely closing down to protect a result; Mancini was an attacker as a player, only natural that he weighs to the attacking side more, he finds his own pragmatism there 🙂 My point was only that he won’t be overdoing the “cautious” approach like Mazzarri did, completely forsaking creating danger up front to protect his own goal.
Finally, about the atmosphere of the club, it’s all true that Mancini’s united everyone under one banner… but it’s a fragile thing. It will help us for starters (especially in the eyes of a derby and a huge match against Roma), but needs to be built on.
Support should and I think will be there.
Cheers!
Beautifully written my friend. I am extremely happy with the arrival of Mancini. He has handled the press very well. He’s playing the social media game and this distracts the media from the team and gives the players the needed space to improve! Mancini built a huge chunk of the treble winning team. He has built Man City to what it is now. I believe he’s amazing at building teams. He’s a legend! I’m very positive of the upcoming times ahead. However, due to the change of coaches, that will affect our budget..and we will be facing problems acquiring players that would suit our team.