2. City Have Hit "Self Destruct Button"
When you find yourselves a whole 12 points adrift in the race for the Premier League title, there's usually a pretty good reason for it. Manchester City have not only had their troubles on the pitch, but off it, too. The training ground bust-up in December which saw Roberto Mancini physically haul Mario Balotelli off the field before ejecting him from the session illustrated the problems City faced away from the glare of the camera. Balotelli, a perceptual trouble-maker, was never too far away from the headlines during his stint at the Etihad; whether it was throwing a dart at a youth team player, setting off a firework from his bathroom and alerting the fire brigade, getting himself sent off for a petulant and wholly avoidable action in a key game or undermining his manager, the Italian was a constant distracting influence at City thanks to his
long list of controversies. Though he was binned by the club in January, there's a lingering feeling among pundits that they actually miss him now that he's gone. Mancini opted not to replace him with another striker in the January transfer window, leaving him with only three attacking options up front to Manchester United's four. That lack of firepower and failure by Mancini to improve his side looks like being a crucial factor in this season's title race. Had Mancni signed a world class forward in the mould of Neymar or Edinson Cavani, or even Radamel Falcao in January, the title race would likely be a lot closer than it is right now, yet City have just made things easier for United by not doing so.