Roberto Mancini has every right to speak to the match officials when he thinks they have made a mistake but to wave imaginary cards when he thinks an opposition player deserves a red or yellow must stop.
The Italian said sorry when he waved the invisible card following Glen Johnson’s two-footed challenge on Lescott last week but when Roberto repeated the incident at Wigan last night I have to say, I was fuming.
By all accounts it’s acceptable to act in this manner over on the continent but it’s regarded as ungentle-manly conduct on these shores. Please Bobby, can you stop.
Other comments
Skoorb – ‘I love Mancini to bits – for his determination; for the way he has got the players to play football; for the success that he has brought and I would like little else than for him to remain as manager of the club for many years to come. I appreciate that the pressure is building as we turn towards the finishing line, that we have suffered some defeats, are missing key players through injury or other absence and have been on the end of some rough and inconsistent decisions from officials recently…’
‘But am I alone in being frustrated at the image of him being highlighted standing at the side of the pitch making the imaginary card waving gesture?’
‘Having done so after the penalty incident in the league game vs the dippers he immediately apologised and he went up in my estimation for doing so. I can only imagine his frustration at what to him, once again, seemed to be the wrong decision last night – I was frustrated and my job doesn’t depend on what happens on the pitch.’
‘I know he is passionate and lives the game as it is played but I fear he’s likely only to continue to draw more attention onto himself and increase the pressure. The media are like school yard bullies. They seek or identify weaknesses, any little chinks in the armour and I have already heard this reaction being described as an indication that he’s starting to ‘crack’. We cannot afford to give our competitors any extra ammunition to fire at us & I fully expect Fergie to pick up on this when prompted by a ‘seeded’ question from on of his pet journalists…’
Many of you have commented on this very subject via the Gesture thread. Click here to read what fellow Blues have said.
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