londonfox
Well-Known Member
I have supported City for the last 40 years. I remember Tony James scoring on the final day of the season to avoid relegation to the third tier. I remember being relegated to the third tier. I remember top division relegation. I remember years of abject nothingness, languishing in the lower reaches of the second tier under the likes of Kelly and Levein. And with all that firmly in mind, I think the outcomes achieved by this management team are unacceptable.
The fact that we are in the Europa League - ie, finished 5th and not 4th last season, is not an achievement, it's a failure. Yes, I think the majority of fans would have happily accepted 5th place at the start of last season. But expectations change as the situation changes. And in January of this year, or during the first lockdown, I most definitely would not have accepted finishing 5th.
Yes we are 4th in the Premier League (before this weekends results). But with a grand total of zero points from home games to West Ham, Villa, and Fulham, we should be much higher. Of course we don't have a divine right to beat any team. But this group of players have shown they are at best good enough to beat these teams, and at worst good enough to get more than a total of zero points. Yes we beat Man City. And we will likely have more of these results now and then. But far more frequent will be defeats against the likes of the above.
As a club, we currently have the potential to cement a place in the top four. And yes, I won't shy away from it, we have the potential to challenge for the Premier League title this season. The players we have have shown, at times, they are good enough to do this. We also should be one of the favourites to win the Europa League, because again, we should be good enough to. But there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that under a Rodgers regime we will reach the Champions League or win a trophy or trophies. And history is all we have to base the future on. We had a great chance to win two cup competitions last season, and we produced an abject performance against a weakened Chelsea team, and two, not one, abject performances against a Villa side who in the league we beat on aggregate 8-1.
With an ownership that held the manager accountable, and with a manager with the right philosophy, I really do not think it would be very difficult to fulfill the clubs current potential. And no, I don't know who that manager is or should be. But I am 100% certain it is not Brendan Rodgers.
This is just my opinion, but an opinion formed with a firm grasp of reality.
