Citizens Cane Shinawatra: Is this the Sven-d of the Road for Eriksson at Eastlands?

So Sven-Goran Eriksson’s position is supposedly under threat after only 9 months in the Manchester City managerial hot seat. Despite a season that’s seen more arrivals at Eastlands than there are angry customers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra has claimed he will review the Swede’s position at the end of this campaign following a lacklustre second-half to the season. Should Eriksson be under-pressure so early in his City tenure, in my opinion and those of the majority of the club’s fans, the answer is a resounding No!

Comings and Goings at Eastlands

Ok, so Sven did splash the cash like a Premier League footballer’s WAG at a designer handbag sale in the summer. But then again, didn’t most of the top clubs? After all, what does £30 million get you these days, a couple of Darren Bent’s at most? After City’s dismal 2006/07 campaign few would argue that big money needed to be spent and to be spent well. To be fair to Eriksson he was also playing catch up with the rest of the division as his appointment was rather late in the summer. He therefore had to move quickly to secure the players he wanted. The former England Head Coach also had to contend with the fact the club had lost two of its best players in French defender Sylvain Distin and the CND loving midfielder Joey Barton which left their squad looking rather threadbare. The majority of critics were eagerly awaiting the Swede to fall flat on his face. However, Sven not only managed to blend a team of new foreign recruits with youngsters already at the club. He also created an impressive, winning team within little more than a month.

A Tale of Two City Seasons

So Shinawatra (or Sinatra as he is affectionately known) is not happy with the performances of this newly created side in the second-half of the season. Well he obviously hasn’t followed City’s fortunes for very long. After all, you only have to compare this season to the last to know the club is definitely on the right track. His very own ‘old blue eyes’ has already earned the club 13 points more than they managed in the whole of the last campaign as well as entertained the Citizens far more than the 2006/07 season, particularly at Eastlands. City season ticket holders have witnessed their team win a total of 11 games this season (5 last season), score 26 goals (10 last season) and lose just 3 games (8 last season). If this isn’t enough, they’ve also had the pleasure of beating their cross city rivals and League champions elect (Manchester United), home and away for the first time in 38 years. Sven’s boys also remain on course to equal if not better their best Premier League finish of 8th in 2005. Surely the former Thai PM will see reason and resist bringing in a ‘summer wind’ of change to Eastlands.

New Recruits, New Fortunes

If you’d spoken to the majority of City fans at the end of last season the general feeling around the club was of impending doom. They’d just finished 4 points above relegation and their unproven, young manager Stuart Pearce had led them to their lowest scoring season in their history (29 goals). They were also losing 2 of their best players which left them looking prize relegation candidates. However, both Shinawatra and Eriksson’s arrival heralded an exciting new vision for the Citizens as new arrivals came thick and fast in the shape of exciting expensive foreign recruits Corluka, Elano, Petrov, Bianchi, Geovanni, Garrido and Bojinov. Despite the excitement, few could have dreamt they’d be occupying 4th spot at the turn of the year and a top 9 place all season.

City Pride

Ok, so the Second-half of the season has not lived up to the first, but in some ways City’s superb start gave a false impression of the squad’s current capabilities. Whether they were new recruits or youngsters, the majority of the club’s players were not used to playing a full Premier League season. The lack of a winter break for the new foreign faces could also have been a factor in their recent lacklustre displays. Wherever Sven’s City team finally finishes in the table, both the fans and the club should be pleased with the progress they’ve made. They are no longer one of the poor relations of the Premier League and have shown they can both attract top talent from around the world and produce exciting young talent themselves. I therefore urge the Citizens to rally to Eriksson’s cause for the last 3 games of the season in an attempt to make Shinawatra appreciate just what the Swede has achieved in his first season and ultimately to let him do the job…his way!

Written by Christian Goodbrand

Tags: Eastlands, Manchester City, Sven Goran Eriksson, Thaksin Shinawatra

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 11:27 and is filed under Features, Home Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.