The New Era: Manchester City

The graphic displayed on Manchester City’s official website thanking Pellegrini


Manchester City have today relived manager Manuel Pellegrini of his managerial duties at the club. The 62 year old had been in charge of the two years, and has departed after having various degrees of success at the Citizens.

A statement on the club’s website this morning informed the media of the decision.

Manchester City:

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Today we are reluctant to announce that manager Manuel Pellegrini has left the club. We are deeply saddened that we have had to take this decision, as we had full confidence in Manuel and his managerial abilities, but last season’s title defence was well below the standard that we would have expected from a manager of his quality. We have certainly not taken this decision lightly, with many discussions being held with the rest of the board at Manchester City, and with Manuel himself, we decided that this was the best decision for the future of the club. We wish Manuel success in his future endeavours, and thank him for the job he has done at the club over the last two years. As a mark of respect, we would like fans to leave messages for Manuel using the #thanksmanuel on Twitter.

Pellegrini joined the club in 2013 as a replacement for Roberto Mancini, and took the league by a storm, winning both the Premier League and League Cup after playing captivating football throughout the season, and the future looked bright for the Chilean – who became the first non-European to manage a club to the Premier League title.

However, the season that followed was less successful, losing out to Chelsea in the title race by a significant margin – a total of eight points – and a disappointing European campaign left many City fans calling for him to be sacked.


Looking down: the level that Manchester City’s performances reached last season hit the ground

And the call of the fans seemed to influence the decision, according to former player James Milner, who left the club for Liverpool during the summer.

James Milner, Liverpool and former Manchester City midfielder:

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I do think that the decision to sack Manuel has been influenced by the fans. All the players, when I was at the club, respected him and wanted him to stay on. The performances of the team last season weren’t of the standard that we would have expected, but that’s not just his fault, the players should also take the blame. I think it’s quite harsh that he has lost his job, given the success he had brought the club the previous season.

So, who are Manchester City lining up to replace Pellegrini for the coming season? It’s a question that many fans are asking, however there are no real clues to who will take the reins. The club are regularly linked with Bayern coach Pep Guardiola in the press, but the Spaniard has a year left on his contract in Germany.

Another potential candidate for the job could be Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who was surprisingly sacked by Real Madrid earlier in the summer. The former Milan boss has had success in the Premier League before, taking Chelsea to a league and FA Cup double in 2010.

Could Patrick Vieira, who managed City’s development squad last season, be in line to replace Pellegrini?

Another outsider could be Patrick Vieira, who only left the club this summer to take charge of sister club New York City, who is often referred as the long term heir of the Manchester City job, and the jump across the pond is only to help with his development as a manager, and now that the job is available, he could fly back and swoop in.

It is thought Manchester City want to find a replacement for Manuel Pellegrini as quickly as possible to avoid minimal disruption to the clubs preparation for the season ahead.

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Hello, and welcome to my first proper attempt at an FM16 story. Now, I missed being on the story scene, and so I desperately want to return. But time is a precious thing at the moment, and so therefore I may not be able to update the story regularly. But that shouldn’t be a problem, as I just want people to follow along and enjoy the ride!

Good luck with City, Tallery!

Words can't even explain how excited I am for this

I dont like Pellegrini, glad to see him gone. Good luck Tal, plenty of talent to work with, thats for sure.

@GlennT: Thanks!
@Jack: Why'd you have to set standards :p
@C.J.Lippo; I certainly do have pleeentttyyy of that!

The graphic welcoming Gary Monk to City

Manchester City have today announced that Gary Monk will be the club’s new manager, after Manuel Pellegrini was sacked by the club last week. The Englishman will join from Swansea, with compensation to be agreed.

Manchester City:

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We are delighted to announce that Gary Monk is the club’s new manager. Gary is a young manager with plenty of knowledge and will hopefully take the club to the next level. He may have only had one job so far, but we have no doubt that Gary is the right man for the job.

The 36 year old, who is the Premier League’s youngest boss, has taken the job that has huge amounts of pressure to succeed, but Monk seemed confident about handling those pressures in a press conference announcing his appointment earlier.

Gary Monk, Manchester City Manager:

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I know this job is a big job. But I am more than ready for it. I had a great season at Swansea last year, and I knew that this was a step that I needed to take to progress in my career. It a job with pressure to succeed, but I know I am more than ready for the challenge.

Monk started his footballing career as a player, making his senior debut at Torquay United in 1995, but was quickly snapped up by Southampton a year later, where he stayed for 8 years. Despite his long stay at the coastal club, he only made 11 league appearances, and spent most of his time out on loan. He moved to Swansea City in 2004 as a player on a free transfer, and went on to become a club legend, staying with the side through four promotions from League Two to the Premier League.


Monk playing for Swansea

However, due to injuries, his playing time in the top flight of English football was seriously limited, and took the opportunity after Michael Laudrup was sacked to become the club’s player-manager. He had considerable success in his short time in charge, with the Welsh side avoiding relegation. He was then made full time manager at the end of the season, when which he hung up his boots, and lead Swansea to they’re best ever season, finishing 8th in the league, which would have helped him secure his new job in Manchester.

Sky Sports pundit, and former Manchester United player, Gary Neville said of his surprise at the appointment on Monday Night Football last night, which is how many people in football would have reacted.

Gary Neville, Sky Sports pundit, former Manchester United player and Salford City co-owner:

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It’s a surprise to me. City have taken a huge risk. He doesn’t have that much Premier League experience as either a player or manager, and that could be an issue when challenging for the title. But I think City have made this appointment with a view to stability and a long term vision. He’s a young, talented guy and is here for the long term. Although, that doesn’t mean he won’t have to bring success quickly and consistently, which is what Man City bosses have failed to do in the past.

Monk will be looking to get started as soon as possible to meet the new players and his new backroom staff – if he doesn’t decide to change it up – in order to prepare for a title challenge next season.

The appointment of such a young manager at such a high profile job is certainly a high risk, but I see it as one that pays off. It’s certainly a long term appointment, but I think Monk will flourish at Man City, and bring many successful years. The potential he showed at Swansea suggests no reason why this might be a short-lived appointment.

Certainly a shock appointment to me, let's see how he does!