4. Man Management Skills
In the modern era, a time of intense media scrutiny into everything happening at a football club, nothing has become more interesting to the press than the attitude of professional footballers, or 'role models' as you may know them. A terrific tactician he may be, but unfortunately for Mancini his man management skills have been pushed to all kinds of limits in his time at Eastlands, perhaps exposing one of his weaknesses. The uproar surrounding the enigmatic Mario Balotelli has surely been detrimental to squad morale, not to mention fan morale. Despite his erratic nature, Balotelli was clearly a huge fan favourite The apple of Noel Gallagher's eye; almost sharing his status as a rock star. After last season, when Carlos Tevez decided to go home for 5 months, only to waltz back into a team in disarray, it was hailed as a masterstroke by Mancini when they lifted the title. Surely Mancini could have foreseen the same thing happening again, and sought to remove any bad eggs from his basket before the new season began. The result is a sticking reputation of a manager who struggles to deal with large egos in tough situations, a key task of a manager at a top club. Manchester United's ego-crises have been handled; Wayne Rooney's transfer request was followed by a swift public apology. The laborious talents of Dimitar Berbatov were sent packing to London in the summer, only to return in the shape of goal-machine Robin Van Persie. You could even look at Kenny Dalglish and his relentless support of Luis Suarez during the racism saga. Although Kenny is no longer in charge, what he left behind is arguably the best footballer in the league, who is now intent on repaying the club that managed him so well with his fine form.