Jamie Carragher City cannot afford to be glorious failures after just nine days at the top... and its time Ozil showed why Wenger paid £42m for him City have been at the top of the table for just nine days this season It would be a shame to see the entertainers come up short, like Newcastle in 1995-96 and Arsenal in 2002-03 The Premier League will strengthen next term - City must take their chance In an ideal world, you would win trophies playing a fancied style, but its more important to get the job done Mesut Ozil revitalised Arsenal when Arsene Wenger spent a club-record fee on the German international, but his start has been good, not great Ozil must live up to his £42million price tag for Arsenals tough run-in They are the overwhelming favourites for the title and the thrilling brand of football they have played has been a joy to watch. But here’s a question: how long do you think Manchester City have spent at the top of the table this season? Given the glowing way City have been spoken about, with many predicting they will turn the title into a procession, you would imagine they have been in the driving seat for a significant period. If that is the case, you would be wrong. Since August 17, Manuel Pellegrini’s side have led the way for just nine days. It is a sobering statistic. Arsenal have dominated the title race (130 days in first place) but City’s number is outstripped by both Liverpool (24 days) and Chelsea (10 days). As the campaign approaches its defining stage, Pellegrini and his players will be anxious to change that. For all the praise that has been showered on them, for all the goals they have scored and the thrills they have provided, City cannot afford to end up being remembered like Newcastle in 1995-96 and Arsenal in 2002-03 — two brilliant sides who ultimately came up short. Do not take this as me being critical of City. Earlier in the season, when they struggled away, I asked the question of whether City fans would prefer to have Roberto Mancini back over Manuel Pellegrini, as they were too open and lost too often away from home. City had slipped to seventh back then but their response since has been emphatic. Pellegrini, who was deservedly named Manager of the Month on Friday, has got things working smoothly and has proven he is a class act in the way he has handled spats with Alan Pardew and Jose Mourinho. There is much to admire about City and Barcelona, their opponents in a blockbuster Champions League game, will be looking at them anxiously. So too, for that matter, will the rest of Europe’s top sides as City have the firepower to blow anyone away. But it is crucial they seize this chance to make their class tell. Next season, their rivals in the Barclays Premier League will strengthen. Manchester United are looking to spend £150million, Chelsea will complete their team by buying a class striker; Arsenal will surely do the same. Monday night’s defeat in that absorbing game with Chelsea showed why City tried to buy Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando from Porto before the transfer window closed, as injuries — especially the one to Fernandinho — left them exposed in key areas. Martin Demichelis struggled alone in midfield, while Yaya Toure showed both sides to his game — he was surging forward like an unstoppable force at times, with the pace of a 100 metres sprinter, but he tracked back with the energy of a marathon runner in his final mile. Pellegrini has persisted with 4-4-2 — something I criticised after they lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League — but those tactics didn’t cost them against Chelsea; they got sprung on the counter-attack and paid the price for having too many midfielders charging forward. So while City were applauded on deadline day for not being held to ransom, showing there is more to them than just throwing money around, how would everyone at the Etihad have felt on Tuesday knowing that, perhaps, a few million more could have secured two key players? I tipped Chelsea in August to win the title. Had they lost on Monday, they would have been out of the equation; six points, plus an inferior goal difference, would have been an unbridgeable gap for Mourinho and his men. Victory put them firmly back in the mix. City have been the most impressive team by far this year and some of their performances, such as the 4-1 demolition of Manchester United, blitzing Arsenal 6-3 and the 11 goals they have powered past Tottenham, have been as good as anything we have seen domestically in recent times. Football now has become as much about style as substance and we expect top sides to play in a certain way, given how Barcelona raised the bar. Playing with style is one of the reasons City went for Pellegrini and he is a man who will stick to his principles. In an ideal world, you would win trophies playing with style. But if it comes to the crunch, you get the job done and win the trophies. After that, you can argue about who has played the best football and I know from experience how this feels. The best Liverpool team I was involved in, certainly for style, was the 1996-97 squad. There were so many talented players, spearheaded by the attacking trio of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore — but we had nothing to show for it and blew a glorious chance to win the title. Fast forward to 2000-01, the season of our cup treble. The brand of football might not have been as attractive but, as far as we were concerned, it wasn’t an issue — three different winners’ medals put style in the shade. City have become such huge players in football now that failing to win the Premier League or Champions League will feel like a disappointment: success in the Capital One Cup, should they beat Sunderland, would be scant reward for the enjoyment they have given. Pellegrini, clearly, will know this. That is why he has to turn City from the ‘Great Entertainers’ into the ‘Great Winners’. It is the only way that he and his players will want to be remembered. mail
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:30:00 +0000
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