Nick Wright assesses Manuel Pellegrinis Manchester City legacy as he prepares to make way for Pep Guardiola.
Nike Vapormax Sale Nz ... Manuel Pellegrinis Etihad Stadium farewell rather summed up the mood at Manchester City as they approach the end of his final season in charge. Boos greeted the 2-2 draw with Arsenal as disgruntled fans headed straight for the exits, and when the manager and his players re-emerged from the dressing room, they were met by swathes of empty seats.It was a sad way for the Chilean to say goodbye after three years at the helm, but the exodus was also an understandable reaction to yet another setback in a season in which City have fallen a long way short of expectations. Manuel Pellegrini waved goodbye to City fans on Sunday after his final game at the Etihad Mercifully for City, their Champions League qualification fate is back in their hands after Manchester Uniteds 3-2 defeat to West Ham at Upton Park. They can guarantee a top-four finish by beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on the final day, but even a top-four finish will not mask the sense of deflation about how things have panned out.How did it come to this? The Capital One Cup triumph over Liverpool ensures the season has at least yielded silverware, but City could not have imagined the collapse that would follow the announcement of Pep Guardiolas appointment in February. Pellegrinis men were just three points behind leaders Leicester at the time. The gap now stands at 15. Manuel Pellegrini and Yaya Toure pose with the Premier League trophy after Man Citys 2013/14 title triumph Even the first Champions League semi-final in their history felt like an anti-climax. Here was an opportunity for Pellegrinis men to prove they belong on the grandest stage, but their meek surrender at the Bernabeu showed that, for all the investment, they are still no closer to the European elite.Pellegrini inherited a team that could win things, said Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness on Sunday. Then he spent £200m net, now he is leaving and how much further down the road is this team than when he walked in? Are they better? Have they stagnated? Or are they worse? What do the challengers need? Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham - what do they need to win the title? They are awkward questions for Pellegrini, who looked well positioned to dominate English football after guiding City to the Premier League title in a stellar 2013/14 campaign. The softly-spoken Chilean succeeded in repairing a squad left fractured by his confrontational predecessor Roberto Mancini, with City pipping Liverpool and Chelsea in a thrilling title race and securing the Capital One Cup with a 3-1 win over Sunderland. Manuel Pellegrini will be replaced by current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola this summer Delivering the first league and cup double in Citys history was an achievement for which their understated manager probably deserved greater credit. It was done in style, too. Pellegrinis men thrilled supporters with devastating attacking football, and a total of 102 goals scored ranked as the second-highest in Premier League history. In all competitions, they struck a record-breaking 156 goals, and thoughts immediately turned to the future after they wrapped up the season with 2-0 win at home to West Ham. Big teams cannot be satisfied with one title, said Pellegrini in his post-match press conference. This club and players deserve more titles. Manuel Pellegrini guided Man City to a second Capital One Cup win this season City and their ambitious owners wanted dominance, but in the end the achievements of 2013/14 have been overshadowed by disappointment. City were joint-top of the Premier League midway through Pellegrinis second year in charge, but their challenge faded in the second half of the season, and there were cup exits too. They did finish as the Premier Leagues leading scorers for the second year running as they netted 83 goals, but it was the first time since 2009/10 since they had failed to win silverware. A steady decline was in motion, and the sense of underachievement has grown this season. Not since 2008/09 have City lost 10 Premier League games in a single campaign. Man Citys Premier League decline under Pellegrini Season Won Drawn Lost Goals for Goals against Points Position 2013/14 27 5 6 102 37 86 1st 2014/15 24 7 7 83 38 79 2nd 2015/16 19 8 10 70 40 65 4th Pellegrini, of course, is not solely responsible for Citys plight, with player recruitment a constant source of frustration. Last seasons signings of Eliaquim Mangala and Wilfried Bony have not worked out, and this year Nicolas Otamendi and Raheem Sterling have also struggled to live up to their huge price-tags.But while Citys aging squad contains 11 players aged 30 or over, there is still far more quality within its ranks than their league positions suggests. Pellegrini has been unable to get the best out of them, and Citys dismal record of no wins from 10 games against the top-six opponents is a damning indictment of the man making the decisions in the dug-out. Is Laporte the answer? Athletic Bilbaos Aymeric Laporte is a Man City target. Is he the answer to their defensive woes? Pellegrini can, of course, point to the destabilising effect of the Guardiola announcement as a mitigating factor - and it certainly seems as though certain players have taken their eyes of the ball - but he cannot deny that the decline started long before February.So while Pellegrini will be fondly remembered for the moments to savour in his unforgettable first season, he leaves having failed in his task to take City to the next level. The sparse crowd that stayed for his farewell speech told a tale. Guardiola has plenty of work to do to get them to where they want to be. Also See: What do the challengers need? Is Laporte the answer? Who gets into Europe? City-Arsenal talking points
Nike Tn Shoes Nz . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League.
Vapormax New Zealand . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in.
http://www.airvapormaxnz.com/vapormax-2019-sale-nz.html . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Nineteen people were selected as potential jurors Monday in a lawsuit by a former Penn State assistant football coach who says he witnessed onetime fellow coach Jerry Sandusky abuse a boy in the team shower more than 15 years ago.Ten women and nine men were qualified for a pool of 28, which lawyers will pare down to 12 jurors and four alternates. The jurors will hear Mike McQuearys defamation, whistleblower and misrepresentation lawsuit against the university.The jury selection process could wrap up Tuesday, and opening statements are scheduled in a week.McQueary, who played quarterback for the Nittany Lions in the 1990s, says he was working as a graduate assistant coach when in early 2001 he was in a team locker room and noticed Sandusky sexually abusing a boy. He reported it the next morning to then-head coach Joe Paterno, who in turn alerted administrators.Paternos handling of that complaint was cited by trustees as among the reasons he was fired in November 2011, days after Sandusky was charged with child molestation. Paterno died in early 2012.After speaking with Paterno, McQueary talked to two Penn State administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz. But it was more than a decade later that charges were filed against Sandusky.Curley and Schultz were charged, along with the then-president, Graham Spanier, for theeir actions in response to the Sandusky scandal.
Vapormax 95 NZ. McQuearys lawsuit argues he was defamed by a statement issued by Spanier in support of Curley and Schultz the day they were charged. He says he was retaliated against by the university for reporting Sandusky and helping the prosecution. And he says he was the victim of misrepresentation, citing assurances by Curley and Schultz they would investigate what he told them and respond appropriately.McQueary was put on leave when Sandusky, Curley and Schultz were arrested, and the university didnt renew his contract the following summer. He had been making $140,000 a year.In an August order denying Penn States request to delay the trial, Judge Thomas Gavin said McQueary has not been able to find a coaching job at any level, is unemployed and has exhausted financial resources.McQuearys lawsuit seeks prospective lost wages and damages.Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of dozens of counts of sexual abuse of children, although he maintains his innocence and is pursuing appeals. Curley, Schultz and Spanier await trial in Harrisburg, after a state appeals court earlier this year threw out several of the more serious counts against them. A pretrial hearing in those cases is scheduled for Thursday. ' ' '