Manuel has wings clipped by money men

IN FAIRNESS to Manuel Pellegrini, there was only so much he could say. Here he was, after all, in the bowels of the Etihad Stadium, reflecting on the potentially negative impact of a flight on an Etihad jet owned by his club’s main sponsor. But Manchester City’s manager was struggling to defend the position he had initially adopted when asked if a tired display against Middlesbrough was the product of a sevenhour journey the previous evening. In his post-match press conference he had politely but firmly rejected such accusations. In a side room later, however, he argued with less conviction, even admitting that his own view of the situation might have been flawed. ‘I am not saying what I am saying is the correct thing,’ he said. ‘I give an opinion.’ Perhaps more telling was when Pellegrini (right) was asked if such a visit to the Abu Dhabi home of his super-rich employers would have been arranged had they been playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the game which comes next for a City side now reflecting on backto-back defeats after their loss to Arsenal. ‘It was not a game with Chelsea,’ he replied. ‘I don’t want to say because you are telling me something that is not relative.’ So he was asked again. Would they have spent 14 hours on a plane, not to mention five days in a different time zone, had it been the week they were meeting their main rivals for the Premier League title? ‘Chelsea stayed here. They did not go to Abu Dhabi,’ he said. ‘Tottenham stayed here. They did not go to Abu Dhabi. I respect your opinion but you respect also mine.’ With the greatest respect his point was not a terribly valid one when Cup defeats for Chelsea and Tottenham do not hide the fact that landing back so late from Abu Dhabi — around 8pm — amounted to far from ideal preparation. As Pellegrini acknowledged, it was not a game against Chelsea. No, it was an FA Cup game against Championship opposition and the City hierarchy obviously thought it the perfect week to put in an appearance for their sponsors. It somewhat undermined Pellegrini’s claim in his own programme notes that City were taking this competition every bit as seriously as the Premier League and Champions League. That, having been eliminated by Championship opposition in Wigan the previous season, they were going to give this a real shot. ‘We want to be at Wembley later in the season and we don’t prioritise the trophies we are involved in,’ he wrote. Only they do, even if we probably have to be fair to Pellegrini and recognise how unlikely it is that the trip would have been his idea. In this modern era of the game managers often have to bow to the demands of the money men. Presumably, they will do nothing to disrupt what now follows

this weekend; that encounter with the current league leaders. The only flight City should consider boarding this week should be one to London.