IAIN MACINTOSH: Sounds an awful lot like Chelsea

Roberto Mancini is on the brink of being sacked by Manchester City and if that isn’t at all surprising, it is something of a shame.

This is a club that has been to the bowels of the third division and returned to tell the tale. Just over 14 years ago, they were beaten at home by Wycombe as their push for promotion from the third division hit the skids. Who then would have thought they would ever sack a manager for coming second in the Premier League?

The response from Mancini’s detractors is that he won’t be sacked for coming second. He’s will be for a wholly unsatisfactory season and another failure in the Champions League because City believe themselves to be a world class club and Manuel Pellegrini is a world class manager. And none of these points can be argued.