Manchester City: Pressure on Pellegrini Makes Etihad No Country for Young Men

Manuel Pellegrini will never say it, but his bosses at Manchester City did him absolutely no favors by announcing their aggressive (delusional?) club goals after the debacle that was last season.

City's brazen lust for silver will necessarily have an impact on both the club's transfer activity and its mainly lip service goal of blooding young players.

While the club's website bleats that its Academy "Provides a strong and effective Youth Programme, for the recruitment and development of young footballers, within Manchester City Football Club," the reality for young players at City is much more stark.

Paul Chronnell's piece in The Guardian set forth the gauntlet tossed at Pellegrini's feet by City brass (most notably Ferran Soriano) upon his hiring in May.

"Pellegrini has been told by the club's chief executive that they are expecting him to preside over an extensive period of success at the Etihad Stadium, which includes wining five trophies in the next five years," wrote Chronnell.

Not just any trophies, by the way.

"I want one title a year. That includes the Champions League, the Premier League or the FA Cup. Is it a realistic aim? I think it is, yes," Soriano reportedly said.

All right then.

Pellegrini has in his trademark cool manner parried any suggestion that he is under undue pressure from the club's mandate. He even insists that developing young players at City is part of his plan.

Per Saj Chowdhury of BBC.co.uk, Pellegrini recently said, "I'm not only here to win trophies, I'm here to work with young players." 

Brave talk, for sure, but as anyone with any sense will tell you, watching what a man does always tells you more than listening to what he says.

If Pellegrini really intended to give the likes of Denis Suarez, John Guidetti and Abdul Razak significant opportunities this season, he would not be heavy in after Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Not that there is anything wrong with pursuing those players. As set forth above, Pellegrini is under a brutal mandate from his new employers.

No one can question that it will be much easier to win a Premier League crown and/or a Champions League title with Jovetic, Negredo or Ibrahimovic than it would be to do so relying on younger talent. 

But neither City nor Pellegrini can have it both ways, i.e., professing to value development of young players while overstocking the roster with full-fledged world class footballers two deep at almost every position.

When players like Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia are apt to scrap for playing time (as they are this season), what hope is there for any of the kids?

So it is more than fine for Pellegrini to see and accept the stony truth of things, which is that he will not last the three years he figures to be at Manchester City if his side does not win big and win now.

As long as Pellegrini stops, well, fibbing about his altruistic hope to develop young players instead of deploying a small army of eight-figure salaried mercenaries.

Because it insults my intelligence, and it makes me very angry.