Kritik und Anregungen » game.7. Four unbeaten teams rem

Nick Wright assesses Manuel Pellegrinis Manchester City legacy as he prepares to make way for Pep Guardiola...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 pointsMichael Kidd-Gilchrist Hornets Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Nicolas Batum Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Marvin-Williams-Hornets-Jersey/ . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Larry Johnson Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Frank Kaminsky Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach.It might be that the hash marks are farther apart. It might be the passion that fans invest in a sport that compels them to fill stadiums 80,000-strong and bigger. It might be that as talented as the players are, they are still kids in grown mens bodies, prone to the kinds of mistakes that age coaches and fans and mothers before our very eyes. Whatever it is, the heart-pounding, heartbreaking finishes that cascaded one after another Saturday, from Tallahassee to Athens to Fort Worth to Clemson, are a reminder that whatever college football is doing, it needs to just keep doing it.1. Four mistakes Georgia made in the last 30 seconds of that epic loss to Tennessee illustrate how the Dawgs dont play with the mental discipline that good teams have.-- Junior tight end Jeb Blazevich didnt get out of bounds at the Tennessee 42 with 29 seconds left. Ten seconds elapsed before the next snap.-- Offensive tackle Tyler Catalina moved early, which forced head coach Kirby Smart to use his last timeout to avoid the 10-second runoff.-- After Jacob Eason appeared to bail his teammates out with that 42-yard touchdown pass, the Bulldogs received an excessive celebration penalty, which got them a 15-yard penalty, assessed on the kickoff. That allowed Tennessee to field the kickoff at its 32 and return it to the Dawgs 48.-- Georgia also was offside on the kickoff, which moved the ball to the Dawgs 43, close enough for Joshua Dobbs to complete the Hail Mary for the victory.2. Lets get this straight. No. 24 Utah ran 97 plays to Cals 49, didnt turn the ball over, held the ball for 42 minutes, 1 second and lost? Lets get this straight, too: Colorado already is the only unbeaten team in league play in the Pac-12 South? Colorado, which had won five games in its first five seasons in the Pac-12? And this: No. 15 Stanford and Oregon, the only teams to win the league since it expanded, lost by a combined 56 points this weekend? And the Ducks, 0-2 in league play, are last in the North? What is there to count on in the Pac-12 anymore? Well, theres this: Oregon whiffed on two more two-point conversions in their 51-33 loss at Washington State.3. Hey Rutgers, you have a role model in Colorado. The Scarlet Knights, after the 58-0 home loss to No. 2 Ohio State, have lost seven straight in the Big Ten by an average margin of 28 points. That is second to Boston College, which has lost 10 straight in the ACC, albeit only by an average margin of 12 points. That is more of a tribute to the Eagles defense lastt season, which led the FBS in total defense.dddddddddddd After victories of FCS Wagner and Buffalo, Boston College gets a dose of reality Friday night, when No. 3 Clemson comes to Chestnut Hill.4. My colleague Adam Rittenberg wondered aloud Sunday if No. 9 Tennessee is a team of destiny a la Auburn in 2013. You have to go further back, Adam. No team got more can-you-believe-it good breaks en route to the national title than the Vols in 1998, from the late pass interference call at Syracuse in the opener, to the hand-of-God fumble by Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner, to Florida State having to play the BCS Championship Game without starter Chris Weinke.5. No. 11 Wisconsin might have fallen a game behind No. 12 Nebraska in the Big Ten West, but the way the Badgers played in their 14-7 loss at No. 4 Michigan provided plenty of evidence that they should remain the division favorite over the Huskers. It will not be easy: The Badgers still have to play No. 2 Ohio State from the East. The Huskers do, too, but their other East opponent is Indiana, not Michigan. However, Nebraska has to come to Madison. More important, Wisconsins play at Michigan State and Michigan the last two weeks showed that it wont beat itself.6. Kudos to NCAA rules boss Rogers Redding for swiftly issuing an interpretation that clarified what anyone who watched the helmet-to-helmet blow that UCLA defensive back Tahaan Goodman delivered to Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu a concussion on Sept. 24 knew: it should have been regarded as targeting. Its the fastest Ive ever seen them turn it around, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. You knew what he thought of the no-call when he didnt fine Cardinal head coach David Shaw for railing against it three days after the game.7. Four unbeaten teams remain in the Group of 5 leagues: No. 6 Houston in the American, No. 19 Boise State and Air Force in the Mountain West, and Western Michigan in the MAC. The Cougars have the toughest road and the best opportunity to win not only the Groups New Years Six bowl slot but a playoff berth, thanks to that Nov. 17 home game against No. 7 Louisville. And a special shoutout to South Alabama, which ended San Diego States 13-game winning streak Saturday and earlier defeated Mississippi State of the SEC, but is 0-2 in the Sun Belt. Maybe that should be a shoutout to the toughness of the Sun Belt. ' ' '