SOME CITY PLAYERS GAVE UP FAR TOO EASILY LAST WEEK
They miss someone who leads on and off the pitch
IT IS a long time since I l eft a stadium as frustrated as I did last Sunday. The manner of Manchester Cit y ’ s defeat by Leicester was so alarming that I was still stewing on it in midweek.
I’ve got so much respect for City and for everyone there: from the manager to the players to the people behind the scenes who make things function on a daily basis. I’m never going to be a bitter ex-pro who shoots his mouth off and says things were better in my day. That’s not me.
At the beginning of the season, I tipped City for the title. I argued that a dressing room that has become as accustomed to winning as theirs would want to rip the trophy back out of Liverpool’s hands and I will not change my mind after two games.
But, equally, I can’t bottle my feelings. What I saw from City six days ago, the way they fell apart left me concerned about the way the season is going to unfold. Perhaps this will serve as a jolt and remind some of the squad what it means to play for the club.
Defeats happen. There are ways to lose, though, and it felt like some gave up too easily against Leicester and, if that was the case, it is unacceptable. I like Leicester and I thought Jamie Vardy was superb but Manchester City shouldn’t concede five at home to Leicester.
More scrutiny i s now on a defence that has cost in excess of £350million to assemble. Ruben Dias, from Benfica, is the latest addition for a club-record fee and already I have heard people referring to him as ‘The next Vincent Kompany’. Such comparisons are ridiculous.
Vinny was one of the greatest defenders of the Premier League era but the vast majority of you only saw what he did on the pitch. Off the pitch, away from the cameras, his impact on City helped shape the club.
Vinny raised standards in training, he made sure players were happy and believed in them. I remember a time when I was out of the team under Roberto Mancini and felt the door had been closed on me. Vinny knew how much it was affecting me.
‘Meeks,’ he said. ‘ Don’t worry about it. You know your ability.
You go and show it to him, you show how good you are. We all believe in you and we are here for you.’ They might sound like a few simple words but the impact was huge and really helped. Vinny came in 2008 and knew what the club was like before the Abu Dhabi takeover. He knew the connection with the community and what Manchester City stands for with its supporters.
That’s why I say it’s ridiculous and unfair to compare Dias to Vinny. It’s similar with Phil Foden. He isn’t the next David Silva. He may have a beautiful left foot but he is a completely different midfielder. It’s far-fetched to think a new face replaces an old one and everything stays the same.
There are leaders in the current squad. But they need someone whose leadership extends beyond the pitch.
Sometimes it feels like new faces have arrived in Manchester and they think it’s all about the glitz and the glamour. I want them to understand what City is about; what it really means to the fans. I don’t ever want City’s players to not to have a link with the local community. I look at the progress
t hat City have made from the time I first arrived from Oldham as a schoolboy and you cannot even begin to make a comparison between the two situations. Equally, though, you should never forget how you were when you started.
City fans are renowned for singing that they fight till the end and they’ll want to see that from their players. There is always beautiful football on show but they’ll want to see the side being more clinical in the coming weeks and they won’t tolerate goals being conceded as they were last weekend.
It takes a lot for me to feel as deeply as I did about a result like Leicester but there were a few things in that 90 minutes that left me wondering how the season will pan out.
Liverpool have started brilliantly in the Premier League and you have to expect they will get 90-plus points again. There is a theory that you can get at them if you beat their press but Liverpool are the team who will score four if they concede three.
If City are to become champions, they need to take that on board. Another setback at Leeds today would make things even more difficult. I’m hoping the situation will see the l eaders emerge.