Ahead of the premier league encounter between Newcastle and Manchester City, French midfielder Yohan Cabaye has labelled City’s inability to work as a unit as the main cause of their decline this season.
Newcastle United midfielder, Yohan Cabaye has branded Manchester City as a team full of individuals on the eve of one of the most awaited game of the English Premier League this Saturday. While talking to reporters, the France international compared the two clubs from Manchester and the midfielder feels that the defending champions are still not on par with their rivals, Manchester United.
Cabaye added that Manchester City are a fantastic team, one of the best in the league, but they are a team of individuals that is hampering their chances of defending their Premier League crown.
“City have fantastic players but, unfortunately for them, they don’t think and play as a team — it’s not the same as United. So maybe that’s the difference. City are still a fantastic team, but they are a team of individuals."
The Citizens possess some of the finest talents in the world, and since the acquisition by the oil rich Abu Dhabi Group they have invested huge sums on a number of players.
The likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, Eden Dzeko, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart, can easily walk in some of the best sides in the world. They have a very experienced and successful manager at the helm, in form of Roberto Mancini. And in addition to all that, the Etihad club has abundance of money at its disposal which allows them to woo away any player they want.
Despite all that, the cash-laden club from Manchester has found it hard to perform on a regular basis this season. There are certain reasons for that and the main hurdle in The Citizens’ way is the inability to work as a team. Profiles of Manchester City’s players are indeed impressive but their inability to perform as a team has let them down on more than one occasion this season.
City’s players prefer to protect their personal integrity more, and lack of harmony in the camp is one of the main reasons behind excessive individualism in the team.
Let’s take the example of Carlos Tevez, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Manchester City striker fell out with most of his teammates after refusing to play as a substitute for City’s game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season. That prompted the club manager to claim that he wants the Argentine international out of Manchester City. Tevez was on the verge of leaving the club but later changed his mind knowing that no other team would be willing to offer him what City are, and returned to the club on February 14, 2012.
Another player who had been surrounded by a lot of controversy was January departure Mario Ballotelli.
The Italian international has been doing brilliantly at AC Milan recently, but was never able to make his mark at City. The troublesome striker was involved in a training ground brawl with full back Micah Richards and quarrelled with Roberto Mancini on a number of occasions. Former Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri has also been blamed for playing for individual glory rather than for the team as well.
Hence Cabaye’s claims might be valid and City have infact suffered this season because of not being able to function as a unit. With the experience and quality in the side, City are capable of producing wonders if they use their talents effectively.
However, without the ability to work as a team, realising lofty ambitions will always elude Manchester City.
This summer the owners and the manager will have to sit down and analyse the failures of the current season, and they definitely have to take measures to blend the squad better so it can enable them to achieve greater things in the future.
Cabaye added that Manchester City are a fantastic team, one of the best in the league, but they are a team of individuals that is hampering their chances of defending their Premier League crown.
“City have fantastic players but, unfortunately for them, they don’t think and play as a team — it’s not the same as United. So maybe that’s the difference. City are still a fantastic team, but they are a team of individuals."
The Citizens possess some of the finest talents in the world, and since the acquisition by the oil rich Abu Dhabi Group they have invested huge sums on a number of players.
The likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, Eden Dzeko, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart, can easily walk in some of the best sides in the world. They have a very experienced and successful manager at the helm, in form of Roberto Mancini. And in addition to all that, the Etihad club has abundance of money at its disposal which allows them to woo away any player they want.
Despite all that, the cash-laden club from Manchester has found it hard to perform on a regular basis this season. There are certain reasons for that and the main hurdle in The Citizens’ way is the inability to work as a team. Profiles of Manchester City’s players are indeed impressive but their inability to perform as a team has let them down on more than one occasion this season.
City’s players prefer to protect their personal integrity more, and lack of harmony in the camp is one of the main reasons behind excessive individualism in the team.
Let’s take the example of Carlos Tevez, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Manchester City striker fell out with most of his teammates after refusing to play as a substitute for City’s game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season. That prompted the club manager to claim that he wants the Argentine international out of Manchester City. Tevez was on the verge of leaving the club but later changed his mind knowing that no other team would be willing to offer him what City are, and returned to the club on February 14, 2012.
Another player who had been surrounded by a lot of controversy was January departure Mario Ballotelli.
The Italian international has been doing brilliantly at AC Milan recently, but was never able to make his mark at City. The troublesome striker was involved in a training ground brawl with full back Micah Richards and quarrelled with Roberto Mancini on a number of occasions. Former Arsenal playmaker Samir Nasri has also been blamed for playing for individual glory rather than for the team as well.
Hence Cabaye’s claims might be valid and City have infact suffered this season because of not being able to function as a unit. With the experience and quality in the side, City are capable of producing wonders if they use their talents effectively.
However, without the ability to work as a team, realising lofty ambitions will always elude Manchester City.
This summer the owners and the manager will have to sit down and analyse the failures of the current season, and they definitely have to take measures to blend the squad better so it can enable them to achieve greater things in the future.
