IN normal circumstances, Blackburn Rovers would arrive at the Etihad Stadium buoyed by the fact that there have been ructions within the Manchester City camp over the past few days – and rightly so.
The Citizens were handed a 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich in the Champions League clash on Tuesday. That was followed by another tantrum from Carlos Tevez, who was subsequently suspended from the side for a couple of weeks.
Most teams, just as Blackburn, would view this as frailties in a disjointed squad and seek to expose them at the expense of the home side. But the truth is far from it.
Yes, City do have a problem with Tevez and it’s been a rather protracted one. Certainly not alone, I am pleased that Roberto Mancini and the management team at Etihad have chosen to deal with the Argentinian in the manner with which he was supposed to have been dealt with in the first place – swiftly and effectively.
Instead of this unsettling the camp, I think it will galvanise the lads and spur them on to play with even greater commitment, and more so in the Premiership – the title they covet the most and which remains the number one priority for the club.
The defeat in Germany will have stung the ego, but not enough to leave the players detracted from the task that lies ahead today.
That City drew level at the top of the Premier League standings again last weekend is not something that will be lost on this side, who I honestly think is the strongest and most efficient in British football right now.
The skeptics might hasten to mention that City’s defence is suspect and can leak goals like they did at Bayern; and this might well be the case. But when it comes to the Premier League, Mancini’s team, for some reason or other, appear to ply with a different mindset – one that is driven to win, and win only.
Blackburn, I believe, will find this out first-hand today and that is why I cannot wait to watch this side go!
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