City's Champions League hopes are almost finished... and so is Roberto Mancini

By David McDonnell

Published 10:28 25/02/10

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I wonder if Garry Cook, Manchester City's chief executive and the master of self-aggrandisement, went to work this morning wearing his trademark smug grin.

Somehow I doubt it. For Cook and the City hierarchy look faintly ridiculous today, following the club's exit from the FA Cup at  Stoke last night, which has extended their 34-year wait for a trophy.

Cook, you will recall, was the man who told the world that former boss Mark Hughes was unable to take the club to the next level, that his sacking was a necessary step if City were to achieve their stated aim of becoming a major force.

How laughable that decision now looks, with City out of the Carling Cup and now the FA Cup under Roberto Mancini, the suave Italian who looks the part in his tailored, Mourinho-esque overcoat but who has been exposed.

For the record, Hughes took charge of 21 games this season, before he was given the boot, and lost just two. Mancini has now been in charge for 15 games and lost four. Whatever way look at it, that does not represent progress.

Mancini has served to alienate many of City's players with his punishing training sessions and negative tactical approach, not to mention the club's loyal fans, who are entitled to feel cheated this morning.

More than £250million has been spent on turning their squad into one capable of challenging Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool on an equal footing, yet in reality nothing has changed.

City, once again, have obligingly exited both domestic cup competitons and have the weary look of an exhausted marathon pace-setter in the ongoing race for fourth spot.

The money spent by Sheikh Mansour and his team supposed to yield the beginning of a new era at City, one that would see them emerge from the giant shadow of their more illustrious neighbours over at Old Trafford.

But today City find themselves in familiar territory, racked by bitter self-recrimination and wondering just how it has all gone so horribly wrong yet again, in a season that promised so much at the outset.

Mancini tried to present a united front in the aftermath of the defeat at Stoke, insisting his side had played well and were unlucky to have gone out.

But actions speak louder than words and City's players are hardly giving the impression of a team totally behind their current manager, whose position is looking increasingly weak with every bad result.

The signing of Patrick Vieira on a six-month deal has been a disaster, the former Arsenal colossus confirming Mancini's folly with a series of embarrassing displays capped by a three-match ban for violent conduct.

Carlos Tevez's prolonged stay in Argentina on compassionate leave, despite the delicate nature of his plight following the premature birth of his second daughter, smacked of weak leadership from Mancini.

And now Mancini will be without his other leading striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, who will serve at least a three-match ban following his straight red card at Stoke for lashing out at Ryan Shawcross.

Against that backdrop, not to mention the simmering discontent within his squad and in the ranks of the City supporters, Mancini is facing what looks an increasingly unwinnable battle to stay in a job beyond the end of this season.

Mancini has 12 games to steer City, currently fifth on goal difference with a game in hand, to fulfil his remit of a top-four finish this season, and with it the riches and respect that comes with Champions League football.

But when you look at City's run-in, which pits them against against Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa in three of their last four games, the top four looks an unrealistic target.

Yet even a top-four finish is unlikely to keep Mancini in a job, against a growing belief he is now merely acting in a caretaker capacity until the summer when Jose Mourinho will make his long-awaited return to the Premier League. 

Indeed, perhaps only someone of the calibre of the Special One, with his exemplary CV and knowledge of what it takes to succeed in English football, can save City from their latest bout of self-inflicted misery.

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