5 Premier League Managers That Will Be Sacked Before End of the Season

5. Roberto Mancini

He's on the list simply because he likes to make things hard for himself. He won the league at the last kick of the season and will forever be revered by the blue faithful. His actions since that day have led to some thought-provoking pub banter though, not least his complaining about the lack of investment throughout the transfer window. Manchester City is far and away the best ensemble cast in the league yet his comments suggested a lack of belief in his own stellar squad. Of course, bringing in fresh blood is part and parcel with competitiveness these days, but to frequently and publicly criticize members of your own club is absurdly poor management. Secondly, the whole Teves affair last year established a very strange and possibly damaging precedent. Mancini went back on his word, pandered to an unhappy player and in my opinion undermined his own position. His recent public condemnation of Joe Hart, following the goalkeeper€™s justified critique of the team€™s meltdown against Real Madrid, was also mind boggling. It could be a case of lost in translation, but I feel that Mancini does not publicly back his players enough or shy away from controversy either. It distracts and causes unnecessary friction too. I€™m not sure if he could ever just let the football do the talking. All this is compounded by City€™s lacklustre start to the campaign. They are already 4 points adrift of Chelsea and have seemingly forgotten that you can still get 3 points with a 1-0 score line. Physically and technically Man City dominate, but it€™s the mental side (usually derived from the manager) that has seen them squander points. The recent late equalizer for Arsenal at home is unfortunately not the exception to the rule fo the boys in blue. Added to that, the pressure to succeed at the Etihad stadium is equal to the vast amount of investment poured in by the Abu Dhabi based owners. If they are not going from strength to strength as expected then that can only spell doom for Mancini€™s future in Manchester. You can€™t help but feel that they will lose patience with him if the team take even a tiny step backwards this campaign or if Guardiola ever picks up his phone. Verdict: Draft an €˜I€™m taking a sabbatical€™ press release just in case.