Its been a funny old weekend.....building up to the FA cup final. My husband has been a Manchester City supporter all his life and as he often says ...."you learn to live with disappointment"..
The build up to the match was marred by the continual speculation as to the fate of the manager, Mancini. Here is a man who has a sardonic expression and someone who keeps his cards close to his chest. However anyone in his position must have been affected by the internal politics being played out around him. Everyone seemed to be in the know about his replacement even though he was the present incumbent who on the face of it had not been a bad manager and was still doing the job
The trouble with football it is all about big bucks and big egos and somehow the normal practices of common decency have gone by the board.
I really felt for him as even the players seemed to have smelt blood and were circling him like a pack of wolves with talk of the poor atmosphere in the dressing room.
You may think that I am a keen supporter too, which is not strictly true. I was brought up with a brother who is obsessive about football and enjoys all the commentary from all channels of communication. When we were young he dominated the use of the one TV on a Saturday afternoon and if this wasn't enough he would have the radio playing at full blast too!
Then there's my husband who sometimes can't bring himself to watch a televised match just in case his team messes up........so he has been known to record the match and to then play back later if they win......how sad is that!
So for me it has been a matter of ....if you can't beat them - join them. I regularly watch matches with him even enjoy the banter with Jeff Stelling and pundits on Sky.
My husband is often amused listening to the telephone conversations I have with my brother about football and the extent of my knowledge.
Getting back to Mancini - I can't imagine how demotivating it must have been for him on Saturday. He must have felt out on a limb....and at the end when Wigan won there was a feeling that it was meant to be and Mancini cut a lonely figure at the end. All credit to Wigan but Man City were not at their best and the powers that be should accept some responsibility for this generating a climate of uncertainty.
Even now Mancini has been left dangling like a puppet on a string whilst the upper echelons allegedly discuss terms with his successor.
I know even if he leaves he will take a few million with him. However what drives these kind of men is not really about money even though it helps......it is about success, power and passion. Maybe things could be handled better?
There is a parallel in business. How many of us have been in positions where internal politics dominate and many agendas are trailed - result - miserable demotivated people who witness the changes that inevitably follow only to find that nothing has really changed.........just a lot of upset and expense!!!
