Mario Balotelli has been blamed for Manchester City’s recent bad luck. But there is more to it than just one man.
It is clear to see where Manchester City have fallen away this season, imperious at home, their away record has been particularly poor since the start of 2012.
There have been four 1-0 defeats away from home which have cost the club, a possible 12 points they could have won.
Matches against Sunderland, Everton, Swansea, and Arsenal have been the difference makers- but the man taking the majority of the flak at present, Mario Balotelli, only featured in two of those matches.
He missed the Sunderland game and the Everton match- although his non-appearance at Goodison was inflicted by a three match ban for stamping on Scott Parker.
Balotelli is by no means blameless for City’s recent displays, against Arsenal not only was he ill-disciplined, but he missed two glorious chances to give City the lead.
Nevertheless there are men in City’s line-up who should not be absolved of blame, despite Balotelli’s theatrics.
One man who has epitomised the club’s downfall in recent weeks is David Silva, the mercurial Spaniard who has gone from player of the season contender to invisible man.
Silva’s early season form was superb, he was the best player in the league by far, and it seems that asking him to maintain such a high level of performance was simply too tough a task.
Was he mismanaged by Roberto Mancini? Should he have been rested to prevent burnout? In hindsight perhaps, but Silva’s form was so good early on that leaving him out could have been an equally bad decision.
There have been other issues which have cost City too. Injuries and suspension to Vincent Kompany have been difficult to bear, and stand-in centre back Stefan Savic failed to fill the void.
The loss of Yaya Toure to the African Nations Cup was a blow which they hoped to have planned for, but free signing Owen Hargreaves was clearly a gamble which backfired, while midfield loan signing David Pizarro has failed to set the world alight either.
Blaming Balotelli will do City no good. At least the Italian has contributed massively this season, scoring 17 goals. For a 21-year-old, despite his histrionics, that is an undeniably good return.
Whether City carry on with him is their prerogative, but at least where this season is concerned he has done a great deal of what he set out to do.
Silva too, despite our misgivings about his recent form, should be praised for his overall efforts.
It is the players who have not achieved anything of note that should carry the can. Hargreaves was bought to shore up City especially in the New Year when Toure was missing and towards the end of the season when the going got tough.
Simply put he has been a waste of a squad place. A real, ‘healthy’ midfielder like Roma’s Daniele di Rossi could have been snapped up in the summer had City not been spooked by incoming financial fair play regulations and decided to opt for a cheap option.
The same goes for January. City could have spent big and pushed on, but they missed the opportunity, bringing in just David Pizarro.
Who carries the can? Hargreaves or Mancini- the manager who should have insisted the club did not buy such a dud?
Or do you still consider Balotelli the scapegoat? You tell us.
image: © wonker
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