Following last season’s treble triumph, there was every expectation that City would continue to dominate in the following season. While very far from bad, performances and several results have dropped from the standards seen in the first half of 2023.
Reasons have been provided, ranging from complacency and a lack of hunger in the squad to the injuries to key players in Kevin de Bruyne and John Stones. Then there’s the view that this is part of genius Pep’s season planning, where he makes a few tactical tweaks, the players peak in the second half of the season and City pick up the trophies.
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Sell in haste, repent at leisure. The sale of Cole Palmer was arguably the most controversial made by City for years. Why? Because City have never willingly sold a young player of such ability who had been nurtured by the club since they were in primary school.
Sure, we’ve lost talented players before, but it was always a bit different. Jadon Sancho was very highly rated, but was determined to leave. Going back further, Shaun Wright-Phillips also left for Chelsea, but that was at a time when we needed the money and weren’t competing at the highest level. Most recently Romeo Lavia was tipped for the first team and may be one we regret selling, however Lavia had only been with City a couple of years. Palmer was “one of our own”.
So let’s assess what happened…
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It has come to light that McDonald Mariga has been granted a UK work permit afterall. In an effort to get the permit granted, the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga claims to have held talks with “Gordon Brown’s office, the Africa Office, office of Culture and Sports, the Home office, the FA president Lord Treisman and to Mariga himself.”
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