In a football dressing-room, nobody likes a manager, or certainly very few players do. Bob Paisley used to say that the moment a manager is liked by his players is the moment when he is in trouble, but while they don't have to be liked, the players have to be able to rely on the manager.
There have been too many noises coming out of the City camp this season, though, and too much talk of in-fighting and the lack of togetherness has played itself out in the defeats at Southampton and Everton, when their performance was totally unacceptable. There was no fight from City in either game and that has to be down to the manager.
When you have the club captain playing for his country against the manager's wishes after two months out with injury, you know you have problems.
As captain, Vincent Kompany has to be the leader in the dressing room, somebody who is on the same wavelength as the manager.
He has to be the buffer between the manager and the players, but by playing for Belgium last month after all that time on the sidelines, he did little to convey the notion that he and Mancini are on the same frequency.
There is now talk of Barcelona being interested in Kompany, so instead of City adding world-class players to their squad, they are now faced with the prospect of the team breaking up.
After winning the title last season, City simply should not find themselves in the position they are now in. And one of the biggest indictments of their title defence is that their under-par showings have led to people starting to describe the leading team as one of Ferguson's best.
Nobody was saying that back in October and November when United were scraping 1-0 victories against mediocre opposition, but they have since stretched their lead to 15 points because City have put them under absolutely no pressure.
United have been allowed to coast to the title. They capitulated last season, but City have failed to assert any kind of pressure to make that happen again.
And that is why Mancini is now hearing talk of his job being under threat, because the modern game demands success immediately.
He has overseen a team that has gone from being in a position of absolute power to one that has left everyone guessing again about what the future holds.
And while Mancini may still complain about the failings of last summer and the lack of top-quality additions to his squad, the buck always stops with the manager and nobody can say that he or City have had a good season.
Link: [Soccer Live] River Plate - Arsenal de Sarandà - Argentine football
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