WHY does everything surrounding Manchester City have to be a soap opera played out for the delight of the uncommitted masses who not only don't really care but also find it highly amusing?
This morning after two victories, one draw, and three single-goal defeats, the Blues are eleventh in the Premiership and comfortably placed in the middle of the table where their playing profile suggests they should be.
When they finished ninth in their first season in the top flight under Kevin Keegan, City had only eight points from as many games so too much navel-gazing at this stage of the season seems a little premature though the manager is clearly not yet out of the woods.
If the Blues lose to Arsenal on Saturday, an entirely feasible result, will his head be on the chopping block again? A football club cannot thrive in such ludicrous circumstances.
If the board wanted change then they should have made it in the summer after an appalling season that saw their side only just escape the drop. To change horses after six games makes it appear they are governing `on the hoof'.
Once the decision to keep Keegan was made, albeit with strict instructions that dramatic improvement was needed, they were duty bound to give him the time to implement changes.
Stuart Pearce for instance has been appointed joint head coach, a series of bonding days have been organised and have been successful and new ways of preparation have been introduced.
If the players are still not happy with the groundwork then Keegan should listen to them and not be too proud to ask for more help on the training ground.
In any event, six matches are hardly enough to judge his changes - although some of the signs have not been encouraging.
To be fair to the men running the club they have never said Keegan was facing the sack, but the fact that they haven't said anything at all publicly meant that certain sections of the tabloid press have had a field day at the club's expense.
Whispers from `sources' are never harbingers of happiness.
Failure
After his failure with England, Keegan has long been a target for certain newspapers and City are suffering as a result.
Would goalkeeper David James for instance have been subject to quite such over-the-top vilification had he not played for Keegan at City? One doubts it very much.
Seen in that light, there should on balance be small relief that Keegan has, for now, dodged the axe and survived the poison pens if only because of the innate decency and honesty he showed last week when blitzed with a barrage of hyped accusations many of which - including the Danny Mills clash and the Robbie Fowler fine - were simply not true.
The England full-back did have a discussion with Keegan about training methods and defensive preparation, but it took place in view of watching spectators, in the presence of the fitness coach and not only were fists not raised but neither were voices.
Quite frankly City fans should be happy that their players are getting so involved, it shows they care and that kind of collective responsibility rather than a manager's blinkered dictatorship should be applauded.
Like any boss in any organisation City's chief, who has openly admitted he is under pressure, is liked by some players not liked by others, but they are all professionals and had they not responded by showing they do care at Palace on Saturday then Keegan would in all likelihood have gone by now.
Not that he can rest on his laurels, for the manager still has plenty of questions to answer and the only way he can do that is by keeping the Blues in the Premiership's middle class and lower the expectation levels that he helped boost to a high altitude in the first place.
The first `Keegan out' chant has still not been heard at Eastlands; when it is he will not need telling that his time is up by any newspaper headline or chairman.
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Good point about James- since sven dropped him, Robinson's errors (spilled a cross v Poland, dodgy feet first challenges on Huckerby and Drogba, plus some poor clearances yesterday) have been overlooked by the same journalists who would have been happy to crucify James. BBC1 described Robinson's performance v chelsea as outstanding, but he only had one proper save to make.
I think Chris Bailey's article is like a breath of fresh air compared to some of the tripe we have heard, seen and written in the media recently. To make Chris' point even more emphatically --if City had say beaten Everton by 1 goal rather than losing then we would now be 4th in the table having not been below halfway all season. If that had been the case would everybody now be saying Champions League here we come! That would have been as farcical as the present situation surrounding City. It seems to me that a lot of the media nowadays want to engineer their own stories now and KK of course has in the past provided some "Roy of the Rovers dramas" and he and City are paying a dear price now in terms of our ever voracious press searcing amongst the garbage bins for juicy titbits that they can manipulate into headline grabbing stories.
Lets not get carried away with the victory over Palace. I was glad we won, and Macken looked lively - although he missed a few chances. A run of games may help his sharpness. But we could've drawn a game we dominated! Arsenal will be a different cup of tea and test the 'tactics' once again. Note big Sam masterminded another great result, at Highbury!! We'll not go down as the 3 promoted teams are dreadful!!
All good sensible stuff as on e has come to expect from Chris Bailey.Let's be honest - if United should just happen to be beaten by Liverpool at home tonight the media circus will move on rapidly to Old Trafford - and rightly so because United would be behind us with the same number of games played.In fact I think that still applies if they only draw as City's goal difference is pretty good.So I agree - crisis what crisis - and I wouldn't put it past City to beat Arsenal on Saturday - it may seem unlikely but it's the sort of mad thing they might do !!
The media frenzy around Keegan is so rabid it makes you wonder if he can survive at all . Already people are saying we MUST beat Barnsley , if we beat Arsenal (fat chance) or even scrape a creditable draw then it will move on - We MUST beat Chelsea , We MUST beat Newcastle etc etc . Who says we must - Only the papers and the idiots on this website who seem to think City have a divine right to a top six finish . It strikes me this kind of constant pressure can only lead to one outcome (as we WON'T beat these teams) ... the board will bottle it and say ta ta to Keegan . Not because they have anyone better lined up but just that the press will make his position untenable .... A Pack of Hyenas comes to mind ! Why don't they talk about Steve Bruce at Brum .... Now that's a real bad start considering their position last year and all the money spent - but then again he's the darling of the press these days isn't he .
I quite agree with a lot of what Chris Bailey says in this article. Let's look at the positives, under KK we achieved immediate promotion back to the Premier League in fantastic style, we are now in our third succesive season in the PL, we have moved to a fantastic new stadium and we have attracted players to the club of the calibre and reputation that would have been unthinkable five years ago. True, some of those players have not worked out, fowler and macca especially spring to mind. However, Anelka has been superb, David James hasn't put a foot wrong for City and the progress of Dunne, SWP and Barton very pleasing to say the least. Plus the addition of Mills, which is a great one as far as I'm concerned, he has that passion which we sorely need.
Now the negative. Despite the progress that has been made, the question has to be asked if we have come as far as possible under KK. Is he the man to take us to the next level? I think there could be an issue there. There has been a lot of rubbish written about KK and City over the past week, but one thing that does strike me is the fact that he doesn't look as if he's enjoying it anymore. Plus, the fact that he is going in just under two seasons places an added pressure onto things,as was evidenced by Bobby Robson's situation at Newcastle and Fergie's when he originally announced his retirement. KK has done well for us, that is not in doubt. However, he needs to make a decision, if he is not 100% into it anymore he needs to the decent thing and leave, no hard feelings, and let's move on to the next level. If he is still totally committed then fine, but start showing that old passion!
Positive article Chris.
But what reakky got a lot of City fans upset wes the way some of the City players under performed against Everton.
The way Distin the captain said "We must put our differences aside for the Palace game", it was good, but it also showed us not all is well in the City dressing room.
There is no manager available who can replace K K , he right now is the best to get us back up the table.
Remember that a new manager would have the same players and no money.
K K has got to get his dressing room morale high with no ill feelings between the players.
And play the rest of the games with commitment.
We will lose other games but it is how we lose that matters.
Come on you BLUES!
Crisis never. A club close to financial ruin, a manager who could get the boot at any moment, a club relegation bound and players with no heart, hope or desire.
Sal - Is there something Stretford PLC are not telling us about their finances??
You are obviously a Salford supporter Sally the KID. Obviously under 10 as well, so go to bed with your milk and biscuits and leave the message board to the adults...as they say...Children should be seen and not heard...but not seen on adult message boards.
This is a very good article. I totally agree that the time to get rid of KK was the summer. And as many readers pointed out last week, if we picked up points against Palace we wouldn't be looking so bad which we aren't. Nobody expects us to pick up points against Arse, Chelsea or Nited in the next few weeks but you never know and in between those fixtures, we have an out of sorts Southampton and Newcastle to come so there is scope for more points. Most people thought we were dead and buried before the Bolton away game last season because the fixture list looked horrendous and it was difficult to see where the next points were coming from but we got several unexpected ones that laid the platform for the final push to avoid the drop! Bearing in mind the appalling options available if KK were to leave and bearing in mind that if we were to finish up in 11th place at the end of the season and considering the paucity of opposition from the promoted sides, why change now?
Well written article at last from MUEN . What has brought on the sudden change toward fair and honest reporting on Man City ?
Is this the start of a new era in reporting on Man City, as they know City will end the season ABOVE the dis-United
Earnie,Virginia....... Bobby Robson is available and is still enthusiastic about the game !
City are under performing because our players cant put two good performances together. KK has done a lot for this club, some of the players have not worked out but he has brought in ELK, James, Mills, Siclair, Macca and RF. OK the last 3 havnt been brill but how often in the past have we signed players from Real Madrid. Sinclair was in the England squad at the time and I think KK took a chance on RF because you need 2 good quality strikers at least in the premiership. Thats why we have stayed up when previousely we havnt. If KK was 2 go then there would be a que to manage this club. Our average crowd last season was the 17th highest in Europe. With the players mentioned above and SWP , JB etc we have lots of class and potential. The onus is on the players to perform more consistently not just every other week. A bit more atmosphere at home games may help, come on the blues.
So I`m ten years old for stating the obvious, how very novel Dezza and what a very witty retort, not! Carl bit confused there pal. I for one wouldn`t trust our PLC delievering pizzas, do you know something we don`t?
Excellent article. At last a voice of reason in the press. There is definitely a media witch hunt against City at the moment, and we as a Club-that is the board, the manager, the players, and the fans should adopt a siege mentality to deflect the drivel that is being written about our Club. Sally, why are you so obsessed by City. Shouldn't you be getting all gooey-eyed about the return of the rubber lipped one? Don't forget Sally, its on sky at 7pm. Put your money on the scousers tonight, by the way.
Relegation bound Sal? Perhaps, but then your bunch of clowns are currently in a lower league position than ourselves, or do you have problems reading data? Players with no heart? True, but then if you think the likes of Djemba x2, Pleberson, Giggs etc have heart then you obviously having been watching your lot recently - under present circumstances that probably isn't a bad thing!
Well, Mr Bailey, you are right that many knockers have been attacking our manager, mostly with personal attacks and seemingly all with inuendoes. But the worst culprit has of course been the press. To see a Premiership manager bite the dust is top copy for them regardles of the effect on the football club, its team and fans. And by raking over the coals in your obvious way, you too are part of it. I don't see any confirmation or support for our manager in your little contribution. Come on City! is the shout from the real fans. Oh Chris: "Bailey Out! Bailey Out! Bailey Out!" You heard it here first.
Well balanced article there by Chris Bailey - I dont think most blues are asking for a miracle but just some evidence that Kev can organise and motivate the team better than last year - I think you need at least 10 -12 games to decide that -
against Everton it didnt look like it but good signs v Charlton and palace
James again you`re correct, relegation bound check the tables, facts don`t lie! As for blue blood, glad you`re not a tipster!
Oh well Sally, even the best tipsters get it wrong sometimes. I must admit I fancied the scousers last night, especially when Peter Kay's fat brother scored for them. I'm still working on my next tip, Arsenal to win the League or Chelsea, Arse or Chelsea. Is very close wouldn't you say?