Struggling on the road & failing to score for the first time - Manchester City will have to spend again in January to seal the title

I recently wrote this feature piece for Goal.com following my trip to watch West Brom hold Man City to a 0-0 draw.

Since the remarkable 6-1 away win at Old Trafford, Roberto Mancini's side have underwhelmed on their travels. May the Italian be tempted to spend again to sure up their away form?


Manchester City may remain top of the Premier League after an outstanding start to the campaign in which they have lost just one game, yet Boxing Day's goalless draw with West Brom has raised questions about Roberto Mancini's side on their travels.

Their one defeat so far this season came in the recent trip to Chelsea, whilst their inability to score at the Hawthorns was the first time they have failed to find the back of the net this season, as Roy Hodgson's men pegged back the big spenders' title charge.

At the Etihad Stadium Roberto Mancini’s men have won every single game in the Premier League and whilst an away record of five wins, three draws and one defeat is by no means a poor return, the Italian will be keen to ensure his side do not see their title ambitions scuppered on the road after their third consecutive away game without a win.

Against a stoic, well-drilled West Brom defence, City probed and passed the ball around - led by Samir Nasri and David Silva - but ultimately lacked the incisiveness required to get off the mark. Sergio Aguero cut a forlorn figure and seemed almost bullied by the Baggies defensive duo of Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley.

Aguero's second-half replacement, Edin Dzeko, started the season in simply outstanding fashion bagging goals with consummate ease, and despite struggling to force his way past Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli in recent weeks, he still boasts a record of 10 goals in his 14 Premier League appearances. Most significantly eight of his goals have come away from home, suggesting the Bosnian could be the solution when his side's backs are against the wall.

Yet the £27 million former Wolfsburg man has fallen down the pecking order at Eastlands and neither he, nor the other attacking substitute Adam Johnson, could make the difference on Monday.

Whilst nobody should be pressing the panic button at the Etihad Stadium, Mancini may feel that his expensively-assembled outfit might just require one more acquisition to bolster his attacking options.

City's admiration for Napoli's attacking trio of Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi is hardly a secret. And of the three, it is the Uruguayan Cavani who might be viewed as an upgrade on Dzeko. Seen as a frontman with more goals and guile, and the ability to make a difference in tough away games.

Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie, whose 34 goals in 2011 has taken him to the brink of making history, is another star coveted by City. But a January move would surely be out of the question with Arsene Wenger's side remaining in the Champions League while both Manchester clubs are out.

Manchester City will eventually have to learn that throwing money at every problem is not always the solution, particularly with the era of Financial Fair Play upon us. And Roberto Mancini is paid very well to turn his collection of megastars into a cohesive trophy-winning side - who can grind out wins as well as roll over their opponents.

The fact that City are top of the Premier League is testament to the good work he has done. But with Manchester United hitting their stride as is customary this time of year, and the City juggernaut stuttering on the road, another new arrival at the Etihad Stadium could be on the cards.


By Jake Watson at the Hawthorns

Welcome to Leicester

OK so Nigel Pearson’s not exactly new to Leicester, but his return to the Foxes has once again got the clubs fans dreaming of a return to the Premier League.

Leicester have seen themselves burdened with the tag of ‘the Manchester City of the Championship’ due to their wealthy foreign owners, but the appointment of such a talented and now experienced manager in Pearson will hope to shake off that unwanted label .

So here we start with Pearson’s story, ‘To Hull and Back’ - The 48-year-old was a somewhat under-whelming appointment in 2008, but quickly built a rapport with the clubs fans that made him arguably the clubs most popular manager since the hugely successful reign of Martin O’Neill which ended in the year 2000.

Despite fine results on the football field it was apparent Pearson often had a strained relationship with chairman at the time, Milan Mandaric and his chief-executive Lee Hoo’s. To cut a long story short; the extravagant American-Seb, Mandaric was looking to sell to the clubs current Thai owners but they felt Nigel’s brand of football and his lack of worldwide fame was not their vision for the club.
So, out went Pearson to Hull to be replaced by Mourinho wanabee, Paolo Sousa. In fairness to Sousa, he had shown promise at Swansea but the transition in style of football he tried to bring to the club was a bridge too far from that of the departed Pearson. This though, is ignoring several turgid Sousa signings.

Fast-forward through the reign of ‘Uncle Sven’; one that was fun but cannot be looked back on as either failure or success as he simply wasn’t given enough time, and we are back where we started. The Thai owners have re-hired the man they forced out of the club, and it begs the question why Pearson would return?

Armed with a squad and transfer budget that can only be compared to that of Manchester City’s in the Premier League, Nigel has unfinished business and has the tools to bring success.

Unlike Pearson’s first reign at the club he will now be burdening a huge expectation that simply wasn’t there prior to his first appointment.

In his relatively short career as a manager Pearson has some fine achievements;
• In his first job at Carlisle he guided the club to safety in dramatic fashion as goalkeeper; Jimmy Glass goes down in folklore as he scores a late goal to save their Football League status.
• After coaching roles at Newcastle and West Brom Pearson joined the backroom staff of the England under 21’s and was the first manager to lead an England side out at the new Wembley due to an issue with Pearce’s contract.
• Pearson was hired as Southampton manager on a rolling contract and guided the club to safety, once again on the last day of the season. Ironically at the expense of Leicester, who he later joined that summer.

Pearson will have to hit the ground running if he wants to please the clubs owners by gaining promotion this season, but with a squad full of Championship experience and talent worthy of many Premier League sides Pearson knows failure is simply not an option.

A reminder of my 'Word of Warning' (blog originaly posted 14/06/2011)

A word of warning - written by (@Watson_Journo)
I want avoid using to many clichés when talking about Leicester’s prospects for the upcoming season, but as all you fans will know, it never has been and never will be simple.


Every season, bar our return to the Championship under Pearson, we have had a reasonable belief that this season could see us secure our return to the Premier League though circumstance has always got in the way.


The appointment of former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson last season was met with huge expectation from the Blue Army but his appointment in October and not pre-season ultimately meant it was always going to be too much for promotion. Loan players came in their numbers, some were successful whilst other weren’t and in hindsight many would have preferred we had kept playing the likes of Hobbs, Berner and Waghorn instead of ultimately becoming forced out of the club by temporary players. But (first cliché of the post) ultimately there is no room for sentiment in football and we must accept that these players are unlikely to have a future at Leicester.


A summer of transfer activity is expected as Sven plans to put together his OWN side and I urge fans to be patient during this period as it is still very early, few teams have signed players for next season and we must chose these signings wisely.


The expectation ahead of this season is probably bigger than it ever has been and we believe promotion will be achieved next season though I have a few reservations I would like to share as somewhat of a reality check.


As I have said earlier things are never straight forward with Leicester City and I fully expect this season to be no different from the last 127 years.


The concern that I have and that is clearly shown by many supporters is not the lack of signings but more importantly the lack of players currently in the first team squad. So many loan players were brought in last season and all have once again left, leaving us with a small squad and a number of them actively looking for a way out, so up to 10 signings will be necessary if we are to have a competitive squad next season. The copious amount of players being linked with the club is at its most ridiculous and the signings we make I think will surprise many. One signing I would expect would be the signing of Fulham’s John Panstil who will be available for free in the summer and is likely to join once Sven has exhausted the chance of bringing Kyle Naughton back to the club.


A concern that I do not believe has been aired before is the length of Sven’s current contract as his current deal only takes him to the end of next season. This is a dangerous scenario as if we get to Christmas and we are not front runners there will be speculation whether we should continue with him or cut our losses and bring someone else in, as one thing that can be certain is that if we are not promoted next season Sven will not be here. This scenario hampered Roy Keane during his time at Ipswich as the speculation on his long term future is distracting to the players which saw him sacked with 6months left on his contract, stability is so key to gaining promotion from the Championship.


Stability is definitely the key word in the Championship, I struggle to think of a successful Championship side in my recent memory who have not has a settled side, this league cannot be bought. Cardiff, Forest and Middlesbrough have all spent relatively big in Championship terms and have continued to fail to gain promotion whilst teams like Norwich, Swansea and Blackpool have gained promotion through not spending and having a fantastic team ethic. The main difference separating Leicester from these clubs is that if we were to gain promotion we would have the necessary tools to sustain a position in the Premier League though the transfer policy needed to get us out of the Championship is very different to the one used by Sven last season.


The Pearson and O’Neill era’s of Foxes never quitting appears to have been left behind for a mentality of flair and class which is something we all enjoy watching but is something that West Brom apart has struggled to be successful. A season ahead of speculation and drama can be assured and one that really cannot be predicted though the aim is clear, promotion must be achieved.